


You Are My Spark

by JaeJunHo



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU- supernaturals are known, Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, F/M, M/M, Spark Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-01
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-04 17:53:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 53,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3077504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JaeJunHo/pseuds/JaeJunHo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles knew he will be okay. Just like after all these years, he will be okay. As long as the people around him are fine. As long as he's not worried. As long as he's not reminded of his past. As long as he's not scared. Of himself.</p><p>That's what he's been telling himself all these times.</p><p> </p><p>*************************************************************************************</p><p>My first fanfic. Please be nice. *bows*<br/>Still working on the rating because I don't know how to write smut. <br/>Unbeta'd.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

Another firework went off in the sky, showering the whole city with bright lights and joy. “Happy New Year!” here and there on the tv. Stiles was content to laze around his two-room apartment by himself, sipping hot chocolate while watching Netflix on his laptop.

* * *

Genim ‘Stiles’ Stilinski is not a popular name as compared to other beings even since he was little. He long understood such mage like him wouldn’t be useful other than flicking light on a candle. His spark, as what his mom said, was not more than a harsh memory of his beloved mother.

Claudia Stilinski was a white mage, filled with love and life. She taught Stiles how to accept himself when he couldn’t embrace his spark. When he was two years old, he accidentally blast off their tv because Chucky in ‘Child’s Play’ terrified him. Claudia just laughed and took Stiles in her arms while telling him ‘Chucky is actually a kid playing with his mom’s makeup’. Later that night, both mother and son drew pictures of Chucky with different colours on the doll’s face, until Stiles got tired with laughter and fun.

When he was five years old, he made himself invisible for one hour because Jackson made fun of his ADHD. The teacher had to call Claudia to the kindergarten to calm Stiles down so that he would make himself visible again. Upon arrival, Claudia proceeded to go to the playground and sat on the swing with a smile. She then counted to ten and then shouted “Ready or not, here I come!”. She went up the slides, into the tunnel while saying “Where are you~”. After ten minutes of playing around, she used her spark and made herself invisible too. Suddenly, a pair of glassy doe eyes peeked from behind a tunnel. Stiles searched for his mother frantically and started to tear up again when Claudia surprised him by tickling him from behind with a loud “Found you!”. Stiles laughed and forgot about Jackson and his ADHD. He didn’t encounter Jackson until high school as Jackson moved to London with his family later that year.

When he was seven years old, he shook everything in the waiting room of Beacon Hills Hospital after his father told him that his mother was no longer with them anymore. Nobody was there to calm him down, other than his father’s voice and hug bringing him to the harsh reality. His mother’s last kiss on his forehead and a sweet whisper “ _ **You**_ are my spark” were his only anchor.

No more ice cream after school. No more levitating paint and throwing them at each other using powers with his mother and call it practice, no more ‘Lets go invisible together and surprise dad’, no more ‘kiss it better’, no more sweet ‘I love you’s. **No more ‘Mom’**.

Both men stayed strong for one another through Stiles’ school years; the meetings with Scott, Jackson, Lydia and Allison; through every bruise made by Jackson and his Neanderthal; every detention with Scott; every payback to Jackson and his Neanderthals with Scott. Stiles has longed forgotten of his spark as it went away with his mother.

The only reason he’s still talking, jumping around here and there, was because of John Stilinski. Taking care of each other all these years has put the bitter memory out of both of the men’s minds. After his mother’s death, Stiles had a hard time leaving his father, worried of the old man’s health; while the Sheriff helped Stiles with his nightmares and ADHD. Stiles couldn’t bear the thoughts of leaving his father reminiscing and facing the memories alone. John even had to kick Stiles out of the house after high school as he's worth more than Beacon Hills College, after ensuring he would be fine if Stiles is.

After leaving the town right after high school, Stiles decided to go to New York to continue his studies in the paranormal field, graduating with top class distinction. Scott followed Allison to Michigan, continuing their studies there, while Jackson, in business, and Lydia, pursuing law, went on their separate ways. 

* * *

On a night like this, the 23-year-old mage missed his home, his father, his _**spark**_. The time when everybody has somebody to spend their time with. But Stiles was okay with this; he’s fine as long as his father is fine; telling himself over and over again.

“Okay tonight is your pick!” said Stiles to his German Shepherd. The dog just huffed and closed his eyes from his place on Stiles’ lap. “Aw come on! The least you could do is to pick Avengers and make me a proud owner”. The dog continued sleeping, uninterested of the mage. “Sometimes I wonder what’s the purpose of taking you in back then,” sighed Stiles.

He found the dog, Chase, after the dog chased him around when he was jogging in the park in the evening, back in Beacon Hills. The puppy looked hungry and tired but determined to protect itself from Stiles as it thought Stiles was a threat. Stiles jogged to the store, bought a bag of dog food and tried looking for Chase. He later found the pup, curling defensively under a bench and proceeded to place the food on the ground. While waiting for it to come out of its hiding place, he took notice of dark, black fur with a patch of mud here and there. The yellow eyes kept on staring at him with its puppy face. Stiles kept on cooing and whispering softly to encourage the puppy to come out. It whimpered and toddled to the food slowly and ate it silently. He went back home with Chase and a steak for his father when he introduced the new addition.

Stiles’ mobile suddenly beeped, notifying a new text.

Scotty boy: **happy new year bro!**

Stiles smiled and replied Scott’s text.

_**no sexing alli up? Just 4 me? Got tears in my eyes** _

Scotty boy: **dude!! No!!**

_**awh scotty. we r way past dis wen u told me hw soft allis boobs r** _

Scotty boy: **y do u evn exist?**

_**god works in a mysterious way** _

Scotty boy: **ure right. I shudve ignored u**

_**2 awesome 2 b ignored. Say hi to alli 4 me** _

Scotty boy: **shes d 1 told me 2 wish u**

_**obvsly ure not in her mind if u sex her up** _

Scotty boy: **u knw I hate u right?**

_**haters b hating. Dude im watching avengers here. Go away** _

Scotty boy: **im really questioning my choice of frens**

_**Im questioning it 2. Bye scotty** _

Scotty boy: **later dude**

Stiles was okay with this. Tomorrow he’s going to his part-time job at the coffee shop near his apartment just like before. Nothing was different. Everything was fine.

 

Except it wasn’t.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting my own alternate universe here. Werewolves & other supernatural beings are known. And my randomness syndrome is kinda naughty & wild when I'm writing. So pardon me for the random things. 
> 
> Still unbeta'd

* * *

"Are you going to look for a real job?" asked Isaac.

The golden haired boy was manning the counter today, while Erica making the orders. Stiles was on duty of delivering orders and cleaning up tables. Stiles stopped from munching his chocolate chip cookie and looked at Isaac. To be honest, Stiles was not keeping an eye for job offers. He was happy with his job at the cafe. Sure, the pay was not amazing but he loved the environment and serving people, meeting them and their various antics.

"I don't know. I love it here. Why are you so eager to kick me out like my dad?" asked Stiles, mocking hurt playfully.

That earned Isaac a bop in the head by Erica, "Yeah, why don't you ask boss to fire him Isaac?".

Erica was like their big sister. The feisty blonde was the same age with Stiles and Isaac, but she took care of both like real brothers. She fussed over Stiles if he's working overtime. She fed Isaac when the cafe got too busy on weekdays by feeding Isaac with cookies while he manned the counter. Erica understood Isaac's past with his abusive father and cared for Stiles no matter what. Stiles was sure anybody who got Erica would be a lucky man.

"I'm sorry! It's just that, I think you are better off than being in a cafe. I know I'm not" countered Isaac while looking at the floor.

Thanks to his abusive father, Isaac developed such low confidence. To others, he looked fine, but to Stile and Erica, he looked like a lost puppy at most times. Stiles couldn't imagine what kind of torture he went through with his father. Stiles saw Isaac thrashed violently when he had nightmares, asked to sleep together with Stiles when there were thunders. Stiles, Chase and the apartment that they're sharing together were the only witness to half of Isaac's past experience. When Erica knew this, she tried her best to mother-hen Isaac. Isaac seemed okay with the attention from both Stiles and Erica.

Stiles laughed fondly at that, "Even Chase couldn't chase me away, what made you think you could?". Isaac smiled at him.

"Free cookies and coffees! Dude, I'm in heaven. I think I'm good here". Stiles finished his cookie with a wide cholatey smile.

"I think we need another drinking night. Isaac's obviously had too much coffees this week," suggested Erica. 

"I am not! I had too much of your bullying! Go away!" pouted Isaac.

Erica smacked a kiss loudly on Isaac's cheek while adding "You can't get enough of this, baby boy".

"I think I'm gonna turn up early. Kinda tired y'know. That old guy from this evening was a prick, demanding his coffees to be changed three times just because he could taste the beans," Stiles replied while rolling his shoulders.

"That prick groped me when I bend to fetch his fucking spoon that 'accidentally' dropped on the floor. It took all my control to refrain me from spitting in his coffee," added Erica.

"So no drinking?" asked Isaac hopefully.

"Hell yeah there will be drinking! First round is on me!". Erica was pumped up with anger and energy now. No stopping there.

"You guys go ahead. Imma clean those up and close the cafe down". Stiles eyed the remaining mugs in the sink while wiping the counter.

"Well your loss, loser". Erica went to the back room to get her stuff and changed her clothes.

Isaac was still standing next to Stiles with a puppy look on his face. "Are you sure you're okay? I mean, I can stay back with you,"

Stiles couldn't get enough of Isaac's cuteness. The curly haired boy kept on wanting to help or do something for another. Even before, Isaac volunteered to cover Stiles up when the old guy asked for a new coffee. He would always wanted to do anything without being asked, always waited for a chance to make himself useful. To Stiles, Isaac was like a big puppy, eager to help, eager for praises. Even though they're of the same age, Isaac was the baby among them three.

"I'm good. Drunk Erica, I'm not that sure. She would need somebody to take embarrassing pictures of her though," laughed Stiles.

"Awh man. Have seen last night's video? It was awesome!". Isaac showed a video of Erica punched a drunk man because the douchebag was shoving his hand under her top at the New Year party. 

"Well lets go, curly loser. I'm on fire!" Erica kissed Stiles' cheek and Isaac hugged and nuzzled him. Stiles could never get enough of Isaac's cuteness.

* * *

 

After he's done sweeping the floor, Stiles went to the back of the cafe to throw away the thrash.

"Damnit. Should've brought jacket this morning," grumbled Stiles after opening the back door, feeling the coldness seeping through his clothes.

Stiles huffed at his hands, trying to keep warm. He contemplated on leaving the thrash and throwing it tomorrow but then he had to get in early just for it. 

"You are so not worth ditching Erica and Isaac. Urgh"

Stiles braced himself against the harsh coldness that bit him, throwing the thrash quickly. He ran into the warm cafe and went to the staff room to change and get his stuffs to leave. Stiles checked everything at the back again before turning off the lights, unaware of a pair red eyes watching him from the corner.

As he turned to leave, to go the front, a pair of hands from the shadow, grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.

"Don't. Make. A. Sound."

Getting panicked, Stiles tried to struggle free. But a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapped around him like vines, preventing him from moving.

"Shut. Up."

He tried to dislodged his attacker by struggling further. The arms kept on tightening around him until he could feel the lines of the body behind him.

"If you don't wanna die with your throat out, stay put".

All the whispering, the staying silent, confused Stiles further, making him panic. He struggled with all his might, twisting and pushing away, on the verge of panic attack.

Suddenly the man let him go with a hissed and curses. Stiles scrambled away to the far corner of the room, trying hard to breathe. His vision was getting dark, his breath was getting faster. With shaky hands, he tried to shield his head and pulling his knees up, curling himself like a ball, hoping the stranger would go away.

There were clatters of things fell on the ground, glasses exploded around him, the walls shaking. The last time he had panic attack was on the night he lost his mother. Since then, his father or Scott would try to prevent him from having it.

Stiles was unaware of what happening. The next second, he could feel hands holding his face, but he couldn't see anything. He heard words being murmured in his right ear, he felt warmth enveloping him. A blanket? No. A body. Yes, a body. Hugging him from behind, protecting him. 

"Come on! Breathe! Yes! Yes! Come on! Breathe with me! Stay with me!"

Stiles could feel the stranger's heartbeat behind him. He could feel the man breathing next to his neck.

"Yes. You are getting there. Come on. Follow my breathing"

Stiles willed himself to follow the heartbeat. His laboured breath slowed down little by little. He could feel his body slowly relaxing with the muscular arms around him.

"Yes, you are safe. Yes. That's it. Breathe. Keep doing it. Yes"

The stranger reminded Stiles of his mother. The scent; like after rain, it calms him. The soft murmurs; keeping him grounded. The presence; protecting him from harms. The warmth; telling him that he's not alone. The heartbeat; keeping him calm.

"You are almost there. Come on. Open your eyes slowly"

Stiles wasn't even aware that he had shut his eyes. The first thing he noticed was the messy room. Things were all over the place, with shards of glasses. The room was dim. The only light was from the lamp outside of the cafe. 

'It happened again,' thought Stiles.

The stranger kept on hugging him, keeping him close until he could will his heartbeat to slow thumps.

"Now that I'm calm, are you going to kill me again?"

Mouth filter does not exist in Stiles life when he panicked. Apparently, so was sanity as the stranger could kill him any second now.

"You're a little shit, aren't you?"

Shocked by the verbal abuse for a few seconds, Stiles tried to get himself free. The stranger let him go, while Stiles struggled to stand. The soft chuckle sounded arrogant, making Stiles blushed. He limped to the front of the cafe while keeping an eye on the stranger.

"Well I'm not the shit who broke into a cafe and molested the staff!"

The man walked slowly towards Stiles and stood in front of him while folding his arms on his chest.

"I'm not the shit who let the banshee in the cafe because I was too shit to be alert of it in the first place"

"The fuck?! There was no banshee!" countered Stiles.

The stranger just leaned against a table and stared at Stiles.

"She was about to go in, but she saw me. You should grovel at my feet, thanking me for that". With that, the stranger let his eyes bled red while huffing impatiently.

A werewolf. An Alpha werewolf. Great. Just peachy.

"Well, I'm not going to because I could've handle her. Banshee is just attracted to supernatural being. Once she got a whiff of me, she would probably ran away and never look back". A mage with the inability of being a mage like Stiles, supernatural beings would just laugh from afar. Better that way rather than dealing with them.

"Yep. You're a shit" concluded the stranger with a smirk.

It was like a slap to his face, a reminder how he lost control back then and just now. How he could not do anything to save himself, _**to save his mother**_. His power was nothing but shit. He knew that already, but why did it hurt so much when the stranger threw it at his face? Stiles composed himself and tried to hold in the tears. He held his chin high and looked straight into the werewolf's red eyes.

"Thank you for that. Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for making me realize that I would've probably be dead, if it wasn't for you. Your existence is such a blessing for me. Maybe I would convert to a new religion, with you as the God because you are such a saviour".

Stiles was so done for that day. None of this is worth it. The werewolf's not worth it. He turned around with a shout "Don't forget to lock the doors. You just pressed the lock on the knob". He would be cleaning the mess tomorrow. Tomorrow he would face the reality.

Now, well now he needed a warm bath, Chase and his bed; in that order.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoah I have a new respect to all the writers out there. I'm getting dizzy just staring at my screen now. Sorry for the cliffhanger. I think i need a need chapter because it's already too heavy.  
> But don't worry! my ideas are running wild now! 
> 
> Can't wait for tomorrow. Must. Write. Now.
> 
> Comments and kudos are<3
> 
> Unbeta'd
> 
> (btw, pardon my version of the characters in my story. I hv certain preferences with them. it's just my fantasy XDDD)

* * *

Stiles woke up to his alarm blaring throughout the apartment. Chase was sprawling on top of him, snoring softly like a monster he is. Stiles sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes and looking for his mobile. With Isaac's soft snoring on the couch in front of the tv, Stiles couldn't wish for another way to wake up. Isaac and Erica made it back safely with no issues or new videos, thank god. Erica was too tired and sleepy to go back to her apartment, she crashed on Isaac's bed.

Stiles felt a sense of protectiveness around both of his friends. Isaac, was because he's like a baby and Erica, because she's a woman. Sometimes, Stiles would wait up for them until they got back even at the late hours. He did not know why he felt that but their presence calm Stiles. Before he moved to New York, he kept on fussing over his father, taking care of his being, sending hearty lunch for him and the deputies at his station, fixing him healthy dinners. He would wait up for his father to come back home from the station if his father didn't tell him earlier. Stiles' worried that his father would resort to drinking again, like the early years after his mother passed away. Sometimes when they laughed together, John would have this sad look on his eyes while watching Stiles. His father once said that he's like the replica of his mother, double the trouble. It used to be such a compliment to Stiles. But after the tragedy, it's like a curse for him. To always remind his father of his loss, Stiles couldn't take it. Instead, he tried to take his mind off his guilt by taking care of his father. 

Stiles went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and splashed water on his face. He looked at his face in the mirror. He did not have facial hair, or any body hair at that matter. His smooth pale skin was dotted with moles, red tinged cheeks from the cold water.He tried shaving his smooth face once, thinking that maybe the hair would grow. Instead, he got cuts littered all over his chin. Scott and his dead never let it down even till now. 

_"Maybe you're a lowlife vampire, only suck blood but nothing to give! Like a parasite! You sure look like one!". His group of Neanderthals just high-fived him while smirking and pushing Stiles into the lockers. He had to hold Scott back from ripping Jackson's throat out, telling him that Jackson was not worth it._

 Just like Jackson, Scott is an Alpha. Apparently Jackson was the 'pack leader' of his playgroup. They looked like a bunch of kids with the stupidhead leader in front.Stiles took it as a waste of his time and moved on with his life.

His milky topless body was lithe, supple from lacrosse during high school. He's firm with a hint of muscles but not a lot like Jackson or Scott. Just enough to differentiate him from the women, according to Jackson. Stiles rolled his eyes at that remark every time Jackson threw it at him while he was changing into his lacrosse gear. The moles sprinkled all over the torso and on his back. His mother once said they were like the stars in the sky, beautiful and delicate. Jackson enjoyed throwing him down during lacrosse as he would spot bruises easily.

There was once during a hot day, he was flushed from head to toe, all from the heat and running around. In the locker room, Jackson right away called out to him, saying that he's been masturbating while playing on the field with the other guys. Stiles didn't say anything. He went to his locker, grabbed his things and headed back home without changing or taking shower. He never really paid attention to anything Jackson said all these while. But that particular remark hit him straight up.

He was never interested in girls before. Lydia Martin was a goddess, he wouldn't deny that. She was the only girl that got him looking at her way. But that was not because he had any feelings for her. Stiles admired her wits. Her ability to solve problems and her gracefulness in handling different situations amazed Stiles. They were the only two who achieved high grades while in high school. 

He realized that he had interest in the other team when he would blush every time Danny, Jackson's friend, smiled at him. With dimples and all, Danny was the boy-next-door dream. Stiles would stay in the library, finishing his homeworks, and Danny would come to him and they would talk. Spending time with Danny at the library was like a secret between them. They would silently smiled at each other when they passed by in the hallway. But Danny was another harsh memory to Stiles. One particular day, while he was doing his homeworks, alone in the library, Jackson and his gang came to Stiles. They sat around Stiles, smirking and laughing at him. He stopped writing and started to put away his things. Then Jackson snatched his bag and tossed it between his friends.

_"Danny boy said he would be meeting you here. Sorry he couldn't make it to the date. He has another ass to tap"_

_Stiles didn't say anything, kept trying to get his bag back from the group of werewolves. He didn't dare to look into Jackson's eyes, knowing that he would lose control of himself._

_"You are such a pathetic fucker. Here you are, waiting for your prince charming, while he's getting on with his boy. It amazes me how much you think you actually worth"_

_Stiles tried to calm himself down, reminding himself that Jackson was not worth it, that this was not worth losing himself up._

_"Werewolves don't mate with parasites. Parasites are supposed to be killed, to die"_

_Stiles could feel his hand warming up slowly. He tried to picture his mother smiling, trying to anchor him._

_"You know what, Stilinski. Danny didn't mean to start your secret meet-up. The poor boy was trying to find a spot for him to fuck his newest addition. You were in the most secluded place in the whole school, being the loser and cockblocker you are. You are so unwanted that even Danny was sorry for your existence"_

_The whole group crackled wildly around him. Stiles snatched his bag from one of the werewolves and ran out of the library. He went straight home, locked himself in his room, shutting the curtain down, curled up under the cover in his bed. He tried to calm his breathing down, anchoring himself with " **You are my** **spark** " and his mother's last kiss. Later that evening, after sleeping for a few hours, he fussed over his father with salad for dinner, forcing himself to forget the event of that day._

After that, Stiles tried to avoid Jackson, Danny and their friends as much as possible, except during lacrosse. He would go to the other way if he saw the group walking towards him. He would stay put in his classes, not paying attention to his surroundings. Scott was worried about him but the Alpha had Allison to distract him from Stiles most of them. Stiles was okay with that. Not that he mattered much.

Stiles sighed at the memories, looking away from the mirror. He ran his hands through his messy bed hair. Yeah he was okay with everything. As long as everybody around him was okay. He could deal with it. He had his friends to ground him. He's fine.

* * *

Stiles got to the cafe at 5 a.m. by himself. The cafe was just a few blocks away from their apartment. Isaac and Erica were still sleeping when he got out that morning. Chase trotted with him around the apartment while he was getting ready, as a way of saying goodbye to Stiles. 

He unlocked the front doors with his keys, sighing when he remembered last night's incident. Hours of cleaning and putting everything up. Another 3 months of pay-less shifts. Just a way to start the new year.

He went into the staff room and put his things in the locker, wore the apron and went to the back room. The sight that greeted him left his eyes wide open.

There was nothing clattered all over the floor. The light was fixed, the utensils, mugs, cups, coffees and everything were in a neat order on the shelves. There was no trace of the trauma. Stiles was confused. He was sure he heard the crashing, with glasses everywhere. He swore he saw the aftermath. But what stood in front of him was just like every other day.

He couldn't wrap his mind around it. He walked around the room, touched everything just to make sure they were all real. He checked the back door, looking at the thrash can to ensure himself that he did throw the garbage before everything happened. He went into the room again after locking the back door, staring at everything.

Suddenly there was a rapt knocking on the front door. He peeked by the wall, saw a large tanned man, wearing a suit and shades. The man was looking through the glass door, while knocking. Stiles have never seen the man in his entire life. He went to the door, looked at the man and pointed at the 'Close' sign. 

The man just smiled and said, "I know. That's why I'm here"

Stiles just stared at him stupidly, trying to process what he said.

"I'm representing someone to meet you. So if it's fine with you, it would be my interest to discuss with you inside, properly"

Stiles looked at the man for a few seconds, trying to figure out why the guy was here early in the morning. He unlocked the door and let the man in.

"My utmost appreciation, Mr. Stilinski, for letting me talk to you"

The man was a few inches taller than him, dark skin, buzzed hair. He removed the shades and looked at Stiles with a smile with an offered hand.

"I'm Vernon Boyd. I'm representing Mr. Hale to meet you".

Stiles shook his hand, trying to figure out who the hell was Mr. Hale.

"Uhh.. Hi. Urm who again?"

"Mr. Hale is my employer. He requested me to come here and talk to you regarding last night's event."

Stiles' eyes nearly bulged out of his head. With a maniac laughter, he yelled "I KNEW IT! IT WAS REAL! Okay I'm not crazy! Oh god that feels amazing," while pumping his hand in the air.

"While I'm delighted with the news, Mr. Hale requested me to escort you to this afternoon for a lunch with him. I would retrieve you from the cafe at 1 o'clock. Mr. Hale said to be ready"

Okay now that's too much. Stiles went from confused with last night, pleased with the fact that he's not crazy to WTF. He felt tired already.

"What?! Lunch? With Mr. Hale? I don't even know who the hell this Hale guy is, let alone going to lunch with him! Freaking no dude! I got a job, with no PA to cover me up or attend the customers"

The man, Vernon Boyd, just smiled at him and said, "Mr. Hale already covered that. You are off today's shift"

He couldn't help it if his jaw and eyes were wide open. This Hale guy just randomly put him out of work for today. How the hell did he even do that? Who the hell is this guy?!

"Look, Vernon dude, Mr. Boyd, as much as would love to have the day off, I can't just go ditch my friends and go and play with you guys, okay? Firstly, I don't know this guy is. Secondly, how did he do that?! Thirdly, HOW DO YOU EVEN KNOW MY NAME?!!"

"Please call me Boyd. Yes, I understand that you are confused with everything. That is why Mr. Hale would need you to attend today's lunch with him. He will explain everything". The man kept on smiling sweetly at him with his calm face.

Stiles' mind was against this meeting, knowing that it would attract more troubles. He's the type of guy who prefer to ignore all problems until they go away. That worked out so far. But his heart was strongly telling him to go and meet his Hale guy, as if this person has the answer to everything.

Stiles sighed slowly. He's sighing a lot these few days. He must be doing everything wrong.

"Fine dude. Fine. I'll meet him up. You can take me away or whatever. Now can I go back to my job and regretting my choice of meeting this Hale dude?"

Boyd smiled approvingly at Stiles. "Mr. Hale highly appreciates your cooperation. The car will be here at 1 o'clock. Good day, Mr. Stilinski"

Stiles watched as Boyd went into his car and drove away. He sighed again while looking around the cafe.

 

"New year, new beginning"


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> need to work on the storyline in order to get to the good part. sorry for the VERY slow built. I'm just trying to appease my inner demons here lol.  
> trying my best here to do what i love.  
> I love all of you. 
> 
> And comments & kudos will put you on the santa's list this year!  
> (don't care if it's still early)

* * *

The day was rough. It was like war in the cafe. Customers didn't stop coming even till lunch. Usually people would attack the cafe in the morning when everybody was rushing off to work and then it would cool down. The attack will be repeated during lunch time. But today, it was hell. Stiles pitied Isaac and Erica already. The other two staffs, Marlon and Randall, were the manpower behind the kitchen, preparing the food. Another staff, Fiona, was helping Erica attending to the customers.

It was 12.50 in the afternoon and Stiles was still on his feet, putting the customers' orders together. He was vaguely aware of a black Audi on the other side of the road, opposite of the shop. Stiles proceeded to sending the orders away to the waiting customers. 

"Hey sir, what can I get you?" Isaac sounded chirpy as always.

"Hello. It would be helpful if you could get Mr. Stilinski?"

Stiles turned slowly from the far end of the counter where he was preparing a cup of vanilla latte.

"Boyd! You're here! Oh shit, what time is it now?" Stiles looked frantically at the clock. 1.05.

"Oh shit! Oh sorry dude! Lemme finish this and I'll be right out". 

Boyd just nodded at Stiles and stood aside, waiting for him to finish and get ready.

"Isaac! I need to go now. Can you handle this?", yelled Stiles while going into the staff room.

"Sure Stiles!" Isaac eyed Boyd up and down, with a glint of warning in his eyes. Boyd just raised his eyebrow at the pup with a kind smile.

Stiles got his bag, threw away his apron inside his locker and went out. He waved at Isaac, promising him to tell the story and asking him to tell Erica that he would be back later that evening. Isaac just smiled while staring at him longingly. Both Boyd and Stiles got out of the cafe and crossed the busy road. Boyd opened the door to the back seat with a warm smile. Stiles went in and nearly stumbled down on the floor.

At the opposite end, there was another man. Dressed in a white button-down shirt, with the top three buttons undone and sleeves folded to the elbows, the guy just stared at him nonchalantly. He then looked down at his phone and continued doing anything that he was doing before Stiles got in. Stiles just sat straight up while staring at the guy.

His tanned skin was almost glowing, a contrast to the white shirt. The jet black hair looked soft to touch. His hazel green eyes were serious, looking at the device in his hand pointedly. The thick eyebrows just made his whole face looked more deadly. The stubbled jaw accentuated his sharp cheekbones. Stiles could see a dust of chest hair underneath the white shirt, the pecks contracting as he's breathing. The veins in his arms looked like vines climbing up. Stiles followed it up to his muscled biceps. This guy is huge, with muscles everywhere. Everything that is opposite of Stiles. The guy reminded him of Jackson.

"Ehem. Urm hey. Um how ya doin?" Stiles broke off the awkward atmosphere.

The guy just grunted without even taking his eyes off his phone.

"Riii~iiight. Are you Mr. Hale?"

The guy finally took his eyes off the device, only to giving Stiles a once-over and resumed scrolling down on his phone with a smirk.

Stiles was getting pissed off by the guy. He had enough of such arrogant bastards during high school, he didn't need such treatment from a stranger now. He turned to Boyd who was driving the car and said to him.

"Y'know, I really regret my choice now. If you have told me about your handicapped employer with the inability to speak, I would have took pity on you and decline the offer, saving my energy from throwing insults and your time to get me.  Can you send me back to the cafe now please?"

Boyd was chuckling lightly and kept on driving, while Stiles felt movements behind him. He turned to look at he man. Mr. Hale had put away his device with a scowl on his face, glaring at Stiles with his blood red eyes. His big arms were folding on his chest and he scowled away, looking outside of the window.

Right. Alpha. Apparently an Alpha with the mood of a baby. Stupid Stiles. 

Stiles just rolled his eyes, sitting back at his seat while looking outside the window. He could just enjoy the unfamiliar view while he got taken away.

* * *

They arrived 20 minutes or so later at a small mansion. The neighbourhood looked quiet. Boyd opened his door and Stiles tried to scrambled gracefully on the ground outside. The white building looked majestic and somehow was calling Stiles to it. He felt as if he was drawn to the house.

"Are you going to follow me or you just gonna walk back to your precious cafe?". Hale just raised an eyebrow at him while waiting for Stiles to catch up at the opened front door. 

He almost tripped on his way into the house, scanning around the property. The house looked suspiciously enchanting. He was not sure of what but he could feel his spark warming up slowly inside him.

Boyd was waiting for him at the door, closing it after Stiles got in. The inside of the mansion was amazing. There was a big stairs in the middle of the room. On both of his sides were hallways. He could see the living room on the left side if he walked and peeked through the hallway. On the left seemed to be connected to the parlor. Behind the stairs, Stiles could see another two hallways, divided to the left and right. 

"Follow me, Mr. Stilinski"

Boyd took him around the stairs, into the right hallway. They went through it, into a room that has several doors, with one of them open. They walked through the door, into a room that looked like a big office, where he could see Hale sitting at the end of the big table. There was another guy in the room. He was fiddling with something on the other side of the room. 

"Ah you must be Mr. Stilinski. Have a seat. How are you?" greeted the other man when he turned to Stiles.

Stiles sat on the other end of the table, while looking at Boyd and Hale.

"Fine, I guess"

The guy just smiled at Stiles and sat next to Hale.

"I'm Alan Deaton, Mr. Hale's acquaintance. You can call me Deaton"

Stiles just looked at the three of them. What's up with them and last names? 

"Hiya. Urm okay. Boyd, I'm still waiting for you to take me back to the cafe. Anytime now"

Deaton just chuckled merrily at Stiles. "I love the Spark in this one", said Deaton while Hale rolled his eyes, seemed unbashed by it.

"Oh don't worry. I'm harmless. I won't bite. But they're not so much. They might actually bite you. Both of them are werewolves, an Alpha and a Beta. In fact, I'm just like you. A mage. A Guardian. A  _ **S**_ _ **park**_ ". Deaton smiled at him as Stiles felt like being hit with waves of warmth. He knew this power. All too familiar.

Memories flashed in Stiles' mind. Warm fuzzy feelings inside. Shaking ground. Glasses shattering. A kiss on his forehead. A loss.

Stiles stood up suddenly, staring at the old mage. Shaky, fake laugh. "Ahahaha. I'm sorry. You-you are wrong. I-I don't know what you are talking about. I wanna go back now. Boyd!". 

He looked at Boyd, pleading with all his might with his eyes, trying to get away from the mage.

"It's okay Stiles. You are safe. You are much safer here rather than going back with Boyd. I know your mother. Claudia once told me her spark is special". Deaton smiled at him encouragingly. Stiles felt welcoming warmth seeping through his heart, calming his frantic heart.

"She was a beautiful Guardian, so full of life's wonders. We mourned for her loss, even till now". Stiles stared at Deaton, trying his best to understand the man; how did he know his mother? How did he know him or what he was?

Hale coughed suddenly, distracting Stiles' thoughts, bringing the attention to him.

"Oh pardon my rudeness. I forgot to tell you. This is fine gentleman here is Derek Hale, the Alpha of Beacon Hills Pack. His mother, Talia Hale, is the Alpha of New York Pack. Have you heard about him?"

Stiles tried to recall the Beacon Hills Pack. "Talia Hale used to be the Alpha of Beacon Hills, back when I was there. I didn't know his son is the new Alpha".

"Well, apparently you are missing nothing much. Derek became the Alpha right when you left Beacon Hills five years ago. He was just 23 years old back then, quiet young for anyone to be an Alpha actually. But Talia had to move to New York, taking over his father's place. I am her Guardian" explained Deaton.

Guardian? "Right. Okay. So where do I fall in?". Stiles was pretty much confused since last night. What that had to do with last night? He sat slowly on his seat and looked pointedly at Deaton.

"Each pack has a mage, a Guardian to protect the beings in the pack. The Guardian has his or her own special range of power, while having the standard power. I'm Talia's Guardian, specialized in healing. My skills ranging on taking care of the pack to preventing them from getting harmed when being attacked. Although other Guardians can have the same protection power, mine would double the effect as I'm specialized in that field. The Guardians have a covenant, a group of Guardians working together for the harmony of the packs. Claudia, your mother, was a white mage; mage of life. She gave life by protecting her pack and empowering the beings with her power and will, making them stronger, better in every sense. She was strong as she was Life itself. She was the Guardian of Beacon Hills"

Stiles tried to grasp Deaton's explanation. He; ADHD kid; was the son to some kind of mage Queen? He's the son of Life? What?

"With Talia taking over the New York Pack, Derek had to stepped in, leaving him with no Guardian as I had to follow his mother. Back then, I was, you could say, a supervisor for the Guardians. I worked with and helped other Guardians, maintaining the rapport between the packs. After your mother died, I took over her place as the new Guardian. Four years ago, when I had to move up here with Talia, the covenant had to find a Guardian who could take care and balance the Beacon Hills Pack. Without a Guardian, the pack is unstable and soon it will be destroyed as other beings would try to take over it. No one was suitable for the spot. Me, being the supervisor, was the closest we could get to Claudia, but it was still not enough. When Talia approached your father, to offer you the place, he denied her. He said that you are not entitled to such fate as your mother. He would let you live, be free of such curse. You moved away before we could even meet you. After you turned eighteen, Derek had to find you, to ask you take over your mother's place. We didn't know you're here. Your father kept your existence a secret. Last night was the reason Derek finally found you. He told me you smelled 'powerful'. He would have known as he's your true Alpha. I know it's too much. But you are the successor of such power. And with what Derek has told me about last night, you acquired some of your mother's power, although it is not fully developed yet.".

So that's why his father kicked him out of Beacon Hills. His dad was just protecting him. The Banshee was attracted to him? He never had that problem before. Why last night was 'powerful'? What about before?  _Nononononononono_. No. If last night was just a peek to his 'oh-so-powerful-so-called-power', then what would happened if he develop it fully?

Stiles smacked the table with his hands with fake laugh. "Aha, now I have to stop you there. You see, I'm not the 'Prince of Life' as how you put it. I'm just a normal kid, trying to feed himself and his dog with his small paycheck while working in a cafe, doing nothing but watching Netflix on off days, with ADHD to cope with and panic attacks. Now, you weren't there last night. It was dreadful. The last time I had panic attack that actually shook the whole room was when my mom passed away. I would never want to repeat it again. Never. If you said that it was just a glance of my so-called-gift, I don't wanna know what would happened if it grows. So, no. You can just forget whatever you are trying here because I'm so done with this". Stiles stood up from his chair, scraping the floor with it and looked at Boyd.

"You can either bring me home or I'm gonna walk till I get a cab or even hitchhike random people. Either way, I'm not going to stay in this room anymore". He turned around and walked to the door.

"You burnt me last night, you know. An Alpha would have healed of anything immediately except for which he let to stay".

Derek voiced out suddenly after a long silence. His voice's deep and rich, heavy and heady, making Stiles halt in his fleet. Stiles felt goosebumps all over his body, trying hard to stay calm, while turning around slowly to the wolf. He raised his palms and showed it to the young mage. There were red welts on both palms, like they got burnt.

"I definitely didn't let it stay. They are healing, but very slowly.  _Very_ , slowly". Stiles tried to take in the damage he had done on the Alpha's hands.

"You have a powerful will. Powerful will results in forceful effect. You were clearly protecting yourself from harm. That's why you burnt Derek. But because your Spark is Life, the burnt was doubled, making it healed slowly. This already showed how potent your Spark is. With proper training and coaching, the Spark can be controlled, used for good measures," added Deaton.

Stiles tried to imagine his mom. What would she do? Was she so powerful to get this kind of influence? To him, Claudia was just a " ** _mom_** ". Not a supreme being or an accomplished mage. Being his mother already made her Stiles' queen. But to be told about her Spark, her ability by a stranger, seemed unreal to Stiles.

 _**"You are my spark"**_  

Long brown hair with incredible brown eyes, the smell of daisies, brilliant laughter and blinding smile. His mother was everything he was.

He looked pointedly at Deaton, avoiding Derek as he was another reminder of how useless and dangerous Stiles' Spark is. "If I were to say yes to your offer, in taking over my mom's place as Derek's Guardian, would you tell me everything about my mom?" His question made Deaton smiled politely at him.

This was the only chance he could finally learn about his Spark, his mother. He could protect Beacon Hills, protect his father. With that, Erica and Isaac will be protected too. Scott and Allison would have him to back them up to bond with the Michigan Pack. They would be more protected there. Or anywhere the people in Stiles' life decided to move. 

He could finally protect them. Protect what his mother protected before.

"I guess I better start reading 'Mage for Dummies' now," sighed Stiles.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the jerk derek!! i'm trying to get to the good part. he will be much much MUCH more lovable later.  
> I might warn you, the story would slowly be angsty. So much angst. cz i love angst!  
> but i promise to keep it under control.  
> btw, the pictures in the book, i referred them to Cardcaptor Sakura Cards. they still amaze me :O
> 
> my own alternate universe, my own fantasy, my own demons XDDDD
> 
> thanks guys!
> 
> kudos & comments keep my social life away, so more updates for the story lol

* * *

Having lunch with an Alpha and a Beta werewolf was unimaginable. So far, Stiles would avoid making contact with any werewolves at all, as they kept on reminding him of his high school tormentors. Werewolves were big, strong and muscular. The only werewolves he enjoyed company was those in WWE when he was young. Nothing amused Stiles more then watching Alphas kicking each other's brains out, even though the show was fake. Stiles would watch the show, imagining Jackson and his playgroup getting smashed and thrown across the tv. His dad would turn the tv off, calling it uncivilized and Stiles would just turn it back on with his magic, telling him that the Alphas  _ **are** _ uncivilized. 

So yeah, sitting down and eating silently with two scary werewolves didn't really fall under 'civilization' with Stiles.

Deaton was speaking in low voice with Derek, while Boyd was fiddling with his mobile at the corner of the room. Stiles was still confused with some issues but he was unsure whether or not he's allowed to ask Deaton.

Stiles cleared his throat loudly, bringing the attention of the old mage and the Alpha to him.

"Urm thanks dude for the lunch. You gotta tell me what you put in the sauce, 'cause it tastes like heaven. Well to me that is. Sure would put my dad off his grumbles". He tried to make the atmosphere light by talking nonstop. He couldn't help it okay.

"Well, just some herbs and things that your dad would probably doesn't want to know. It was Claudia's recipe, actually. She said your father would have some tears in his eyes every time she made this pasta. After days of healthy meals, one cheat day was like a blessing to him. We would share some recipes over the phone, figuring out how to get your father to eat properly while torturing him at the same time," Deaton chuckled softly while reminiscing the past.

"In fact, you're very welcome to have more lunch with me," the mage smiled. "After all, we will be spending more time together".

Stiles tried very hard not to falter. He was a wimpy mage. A mage that couldn't control his power because of his emotions. Even he didn't want to spend time with himself. But this mage in front of him, was using light words, kind smiles while talking about him. About his Spark. 

With a fake smile while staring at his plate, Stiles replied slowly.

"Jeez. A white mage huh? Didn't put that on my new year's resolution list. Guess I need to throw the whole list now, huh"

He could feel Derek was staring heatedly at him. The Alpha kept on reminding him of Jackson. The way he carried himself arrogantly, the way he huffed out impatiently, the way he smirked at Stiles like he was lower than dirt. _The way he reminded of his mother when the wolf calmed him down last night_. Stiles hated everything about Derek.

"Your power is still new. Last night, something sure must have triggered it. Your Spark magnified double probably because Derek was there. He's your true Alpha. With that, your Spark identified him as another source of power while trying to protect you from it. I have told you that a Guardian balances the pack, right? Your Spark has never been in a pack before, let alone being near an Alpha. With Derek being there, it powered up twice as before as it tried to serve the Alpha. But you have your own will; that was to protect yourself. So, your Spark must have chosen your will over its job to attend Derek". Deaton tried his best to explain everything to Stiles calmly without worrying him more.

Stiles just sat there while playing around with his food. He's aware that everybody had stopped eating and all eyes were on him. He hated the attention.

"I guess we are done with lunch, don't you think? Lets head back to my office. We can talk more there. I could even show you some books of Guardian and other things," offered Deaton after a few seconds of deafening silence.

Stiles just smiled at Deaton and got up with them. Derek already walked away with Boyd. Good. Derek made him feel uncomfortable.

"You are safe here. Don't worry. I keep my promises to Claudia," Deaton said to him silently with a smile while walking together.

Stiles was grateful Deaton was like his mother. At least somebody that's nice reminded him of her. Not like a particular scowly, brooding wolf who hated him.

When they entered the office, Derek was already sitting at the table with Boyd next to him. They were talking by themselves about something.

"- and he would be staying here until Deaton says something. I want this to be fixed. We already lost 4 years before. And he's 23. I'm not gonna risk anything now that he's with me," spoke Derek.

_**I want this to be fixed** _

He knew that he's defective. Derek didn't have to throw that out at him. He knew who they were talking about. Derek was not even trying to be hushed about it. Whatever. Stiles didn't care. He already knew that.

"Ehem. Alpha? If you're done, lets settle down now, shall we? I'm sure our guest would be pleased to  ** _fix_  **your situation, Derek," Deaton looked at Derek pointedly, while the wolf glared at him and rolled his eyes away.

What did Stiles say? An Alpha with the mood of a baby. 

Stiles sat at the end of the table while Deaton pulled out a thick book from one of the shelves. The book looked old, ancient perhaps. Stiles could feel the power sizzling in the air when Deaton flipped it open.

"This is the Guardian book. It tells us of the laws, the supernatural world, the Spark and everything you need to know about yourself. Every Guardian would have this. I'm sure you don't have this with you here. Yours would be your mother's, back in Beacon Hills. The book has its own Spark. Only a Guardian could use the book. If other supernatural beings took the book, it will protect itself, scorching the handler".

Stiles remembered his father sending away some of his mom's things. Every time Stiles asked what were those things, John would only smiled at him sadly and said "Nothing that you need to know". He asked about it a couple of times when he was a kid but stopped when he saw John getting weary of answering it. His father was never mad at him whenever Stiles asked about his mother. But as he grew up, he could see the pain more clearly in the Sheriff's eyes. He didn't see it before because he was too ignorant of the situation. So he stopped talking about his mom, keeping everything to himself.

"Your books are in my house. Your dad sent it to my mom after your mother passed away. She told me not to touch it until I have found you. She even made Deaton put a protection charm on the door of the library". The Alpha was looking at his phone while talking to Stiles. Okay rude.

"Derek got blasted off once, after he tried to go in. It was quiet entertaining to see a half shifted wolf flying through the air," chuckled Deaton.

"Peter was a dick, daring me to go in, taunting me becoming a weak Alpha if I couldn't get in," Derek growled lowly.

"Well it was not my fault your ego is the size of the world," Stiles couldn't agree more with Deaton. Alphas and their pride.

Deaton handed the book to Stiles, with a particular page on white mage. The mage of Life. There was a picture of a woman, clasping her hands in front. She was wearing a robe, a flowy dress that seemed to glow. Her long hair was encasing her, like it was protecting her. Her face looked calm, with closed eyes and a smile. She looked like she's sleeping peacefully.

"The white mage are able to counter any attack. The will of the mage would futher amplify the Spark, making the pack invincible. They give life to everything. Empowering the pack by improving their skills, protecting them from any enemies, reflecting any curses to the caster. The power would be tenfold if it is developed properly. Not only that, a white mage could take the life of others. If they were to put a protection charm on something, the charm would act as a deathtrap to those who have ill nature. With the correct spells, a Life mage could kill anybody that he or she desires. This particular mage needs to have strong sense of control, strong desire to protect and love. **To deal with Life**. That's why we need the strong-willed Claudia, or somebody close to her, to be the new Guardian. Just like werewolves and their territories, Guardians need heirs. We need somebody to take care of our Spark once we've passed away. And your mother left you with **her** Spark. Her **Life** ".

**_You are my Spark_ **

Stiles couldn't help the tears from falling. His sweet, beautiful mother gave her life to him. All those 'training' with her, all those 'hide and seek', were all to prepare Stiles of what's coming. Of accepting himself. Accepting his mother.

He traced the picture softly with his fingers, gingerly touching the lines and the words. 

'This is mom. This is me'.

He remembered her smile every time Stiles would accidentally use his power. She would just laughed and told him that it's okay to be scared. That it's okay to be different. Just like her. When he thought he was protecting others from himself, he has been rejecting his mother all these while.

He sniffed silently, trying hard to dry up his tears. He could still remember the last day of his mother.

_She was just smiling sweetly at him, seemed unfazed with her cancer. His father was standing next to her, holding her left hand tightly. Stiles couldn't see his father's face but he knew the Sheriff had red bloodshot eyes after crying for hours. His mother just motioned her hand, asking him to come closer. He didn't understand what was happening. His mother was always full of life. Why was she in a hospital?_

_"My precious Life. I want you to always remember that you are special. Inside and out. Nobody can take that away from you. You are as important as others. In fact, much more important. I'm gonna need you to look at me and promise that you will never lose yourself. That you will always come back home when you feel lost. I will be there. I will always be there for you no matter what. Because you are me. **You are my** **Spark** "._

_Stiles could still feel the last kiss on his forehead, telling him that everything will be okay. Everything will be fine. His mother then hugged him lovingly, warmth spreading throughout his body, feeling the air sizzled with unknown aura. He felt calm. He felt safe. He felt he was home. He felt complete._

Deaton put his hand on Stiles' shoulder, bringing him back to the present. Derek and Boyd was nowhere to be found. Stiles owed that to the mage.

"I'm sorry if I have upset you. Claudia was special to me as she was to you. She gave us, the Guardians, unforgettable memories while being with us. She was a fire, that woman. She would light up the whole room with her presence. She would laugh her heart out, telling us that life **is** Spark. Embrace your life and embrace your Spark. We would know because she's the mage," Deaton rubbed his shoulder fondly.

"Yeah, she's amazing," smiled Stiles. This is the first smile that he actually meant it while talking about his mother.

Stiles wiped his tears and handed back the book to Deaton. The mage put the book back on the shelf and turned to the 23-year-old man with a serious face.

"We will need to work on your Spark, Stiles. Derek told me that your eyes went pitch black while you were having panic attack last night. For a Life mage, that is worrying. I think it has something to do with you ignoring your Spark for a long time. It can't develop itself, making it go wild once it had been let out. I'm concerned of your being if the same thing were to happen again without anybody to help you". 

Stiles was still trying to process the whole Guardian thing, let alone his Spark. Suddenly, something stroke him.

"Wait. You said that Derek is an Alpha right? Even though my power hurt him twice as normal, why didn't he attack me? I thought Alphas are feral and defensive when being attacked. And not only that, he kinda calmed me. When my dad tried that the first time after mom passed away, he was blasted off. He had to shout across the room to ground me. He even have several scars as souvenirs," added Stiles bitterly. 

"Derek didn't tell me that. He only said how your power shook everything in the room and he got you to calm down by forcing you to calm down. I expected he resolved to more, erm, brutal approach, given that he's an Alpha," Deaton looked confused as well.

Stiles snorted at that. Yeap. Nothing new there. Alphas tend to attack others. He knew that perfectly well. "Just another thing to add to the 'How Fucked Up Stiles Can Be'. It's just getting longer and longer," sighed Stiles.

Deaton smiled at him and walked slowly to him, standing next to his chair. 

"I think we are done for today. You will need time to process everything. I know it is hard to have all this on your plate right now. But trust me, we need you. Derek needs you. I have been going back and fro between Beacon Hills and New York these five years. It was difficult, but we managed it. But now, the covenant wanted to visit Beacon Hills, to meet the new Guardian. If Derek still doesn't have one, the covenant will severe all ties with the pack, making it an open spot for other creatures to manifest and feed on. I'm sure your father doesn't need that for his heart now, does he?"

Stiles' heart dropped. His father already had enough of him and his fucked up power, he didn't more shit now. Stiles won't let him. He's a mage, a Guardian. He would put his life first before that happened.

"So when do we start my training?"

* * *

 

The drive back was awkward. Derek kept on looking outside of the window, Boyd was humming in front. 

Stiles? Well Stiles was blaming himself for being such a loser for not having the ability to control his power. Having ADHD and panic attacks did not help him at all. Sure, high school was a bitch. And he tried to ignore everything for everybody's own good. But now, thanks to his ignorance, everybody's in this deep shit. Well, that escalated quickly.

Stiles sighed and looked out of the window, looking at passing trees and the sky. When he first moved to New York, he promised himself that it would be great. He vowed to make it great. Forget everything, forget his power. Forget his mother. _Everything will be fine_. But now. Now everything came back to bite him in the ass. And he loved his bubble ass, thank you very much.

"You know, when I first smelled you, I smelled fire. It took me all my control to actually forced myself not to attack you. Not that I want to hold it,"

Great. Now he had this Alpha riding his already-too-fucked-up ass. 'New year, new me,' thought Stiles mournfully.

"With you smelling like a threat, I thought my wolf would be feral, ripping your throat out. But he was actually snarling at the banshee far behind you. I didn't know why he would waste his time with that. I told him your scrawny ass was not worth it," Derek smirked at the window. "Guess my wolf knew that you're a Guardian".

Hello high school again.

Stiles took a deep breath, calming himself and looked at the Alpha's stupid face.

"Look, I didn't ask for your help okay. Your wolf did that on his own. You could've stopped him for all I know with your oh-so-great-mighty-Alpha-control. Clearly that even your ego couldn't put your dog on a leash. But I'm not blaming him. He's just a pitiful creature, trapped in your body. You should be thanking him actually. If it wasn't for you wolf, you would be crying, running back home to momma because the Guardians fried your ass".

He was done with this Alpha. Who did he think he was? He's an Alpha with a pack. A businessman from what Deaton had told him before he went back home, when Stiles asked about Derek. With all the great powers, he's also the son of  **the** Talia Hale. If Claudia was the queen bee of the Guardians, Talia was the queen bee for werewolves. And any of his successors were just as important as her. 

Stiles rolled his eyes at that. None of that mattered to Stiles. Just another Jackson.

The werewolf flared his nose and let his eyes bled red. 

"You are nobody. You may be a Guardian but you are a defective Guardian. Your pitch black eyes last night, yeah, that showed how broken you are. Your Spark may be Life but you destroyed everything in the cafe. Some Life that is," snorted Derek. "The only reason you didn't kill yourself was because of me. I could get another Guardian for my pack, heck, even more, just to balance the power. So, you're nothing to me. The only reason I took you in is because Deaton made me. He promised shit to your mom and now I have to take care of it".

Stiles knew the Alpha was nothing to him. He just met him last night. The wolf attacked him! But he didn't know why he felt like somebody just poured a pail of ice on him. He felt shocked, mad, disappointed, **hurt**. Only his mother's death ever did that to him. Even Jackson didn't make he feel like what he's feeling now. The Alpha's words cut him like glass, shattered his confidence, making him feel all alone again. Just like when he mother died.

Stiles eyes were getting wet.

"If I were Deaton, I would've tell the story and then send you home. You're not worth you mom's post. You couldn't even understand what was going on, let alone controlling it," continued Derek while unaware of Stiles.

The first teardrop that fell down his face brought him back. After a few minutes of silence, Stiles just smiled and said while looking at his hands on his lap, "Yeah. Y'know what, you're right. I'm not a Guardian. I will never be my mom. The only reason I'm doing this is because I wanna know my mom. Dad seemed to ignore me every time we talked about her. So I thought, why not. Deaton seemed to know everything about her,". 

Stiles wiped his tear and turned to Derek. That finally brought the wolf's attention to him.

"I'm going to learn about my Spark because it is the only connection that I have with my mom. I won't be like her but at least I will understand what she went through. And you, of all people, are not worth my energy to argue with. You are a shithead who is better off to die. In fact, I'm surprised why your mom let you take over Beacon Hills rather than Cora. She was better than you, the last time I remember. I'm sure her ego is much appealing than yours. At least I could blame her on PMS every time she acts like a baby," defied Stiles.

Cora was a year younger than Stiles. She was famous at his school because of her family. But she didn't let that go into her head. She would just smirked and beat anybody who tried to pick a fight with her or made fun of her ability. Stiles like her because she didn't bother others, just treated everybody equally. Except to those jerks. Cora would sometimes hanged out with Stiles, making him laughed and forgetting his day. He knew it had something to do with his mom being Talia's Guardian.

Derek shifted uncomfortably in his seat, pinning Stiles with his red eyes. He looked like he was getting ready to pounce Stiles. Stiles would not back down or expose his throat. High school taught him that Alphas were just a bunch of dickheads who would keep dicking around, peacocking their big dicks (he accidentally looked at Scott's when they changed their clothes at the locker room) around and regarding other beings lower than dirt. He definitely didn't need **that**.

The car halted to a stop. Stiles still held his gaze with the Alpha, unwaived. Derek glared deathly at the mage, hackles raised and claws coming out. There was a hint of fangs and Stiles was unnerved with the display.

Boyd coughed, trying to stop the staring contest.

"As much as it would be entertaining to watch you two shredding each other's limbs, I would have to stop both of you. We are at your house, Mr. Stilinski," smiled the driver.

The wolf still held his gaze, not looking at Boyd. Stiles knew he won't win against an Alpha. Jackson taught him that.

After a few minutes, Stiles sighed and smiled gratefully at Boyd.

"Yes, thanks dude. I think I need to just drown myself in the tub. At least that would take me away from the baby Alpha,"

Boyd chuckled lowly. "That would take lots of us away from the baby Alpha, Mr. Stilinski. I don't think he's anything without you,"

Derek growled darkly at Boyd, pointy fangs finally made their appearances.

"It's a wonder how you're still here with him, Boyd. I know I won't last, even for a conversation," snorted Stiles.

"Ah but I'm not working for him. I'm here because his mother took care of me and my family. It's just a small gratitude,"

"A babysitter! You're seriously making my day dude!"

Now Derek's face are covered with fur, scrunched eyebrows, and growled loudly at them.

Stiles laughed at Derek and said straight to his face, "Your bite is as laughable as your bark. You looked like you need a diaper change. So do us a favour, just put away those fur and you could save us all from rolling eyes. Boyd here had enough of his day and he doesn't need your tantrum".

Derek stared at him with wide eyes, while Boyd laughed. Stiles just smiled at Derek and got out of the car.

He walked into his apartment with a wide smile, feeling happy for the first time of the day. He called Chase out and the dog came running to him joyfully, slobbering him with saliva.

It felt good to be home.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaaahhh grammar mistakes everywhere. *sigh*  
> First attempt at writing sexy time.  
> Failed miserably haish
> 
> Btw, Stiles doesnt know about Erica and Isaac being werewolves. They cover up because of Stiles past. And stiles never bothered to ask them bcz he thought both wolves are actually humans. Just a heads up.
> 
> More jerk derek and PackMom Stiles. And a peak to erica and boyd's first meeting.  
> Isaac is such a puppy! oh yes he is!
> 
> Still unbeta'd hiks!

* * *

 

"So, you're saying that you are now a Guardian? You, a loser, are a supreme being in Beacon Hills? I need more drinks,"

Erica has been downing the beers in their apartment. When both of them came back later that night to Stiles, Isaac hugged him tightly and snuffing him. Erica just ruffled his hair and went into Isaac's bedroom to change. Stiles had made chicken and noodle casserole, while Erica and Isaac took their baths. Isaac didn't even leave his spot next to Stiles, keeping him close, while constantly making contacts with him. Erica kept on giving him worried look, concerned of his well-being. Stiles was fine. He would be fine if everybody around him just ignored him. Them being worried were making him worried.

"When you put it that way, it does sound ridiculous," snorted Stiles.

They were lounging on the couch. Isaac was sprawling on it, his head on Stiles' lap who was sitting at the left end of the couch and Erica was sitting on the floor in front of Stiles while Stiles played with her golden hair. The room was dimmed, with only the light from the tv. Chase curled next to Erica on the floor, snuffing adorably in his sleep.

"I think you are amazing enough even without the Spark," huffed Isaac. Stiles scratched his head with his right hand while his left hand was combing through Erica's hair.

"Thank you Isaac," the mage smiled fondly at the pup.

"So what are you gonna do now? Go back to Beacon Hills?" Erica sounded sad. She was playing with the beer can on her lap, not looking at the tv. 

Stiles didn't want to leave them. Not a chance. They are his **_Life_**. But Deaton and Derek needed him, his father needed him. And the only way to keep on protecting them was to be a Guardian.

Stiles sighed and stopped combing Erica's hair. He caressed her head lovingly.

"I'm not leaving you guys. Well not now. I'm gonna be staying here till I get my power in control. Deaton asked me to train with him at his house. We will see how that goes and deal with Beacon Hills later, okay?" convinced Stiles. 

Erica kept on playing with her beer can, while Isaac snored softly. Stiles wanted to tell them that everything will be fine, so bad. But he knew it won't be. So far, it's not.

* * *

 

_Strong arms encasing him from behind. Harsh breathing in his right ear. His body was on fire. He couldn't stop panting, drenched in sweat and slicked with cum._

_The warmth only heighten his senses, making him more sensitive to touches, strokes, caresses._

_He could feel every line of the muscles behind him. How the body growled, making him trembled with passion._

_His Spark was singing in his body, dancing wildly in the air. Celebrating the union._

_He could feel sharp fangs on the side of his neck, grazing the skin, making him jolt with the intensity of the moment._

_He arched backwards, head fell on the shoulders behind him. Hands scrambling, desperately trying to get hold of that jet black, smooth hair._

_The stubble making the bite mark on his neck prickled with ecstasy._

_" **Mine"**_

_Dark, silky, rich voice enveloped his body deliciously._

_He could feel the the shaft thrusting slowly inside him, driving him mad with heat._

_His heart was beating madly, making him gasping for air._

_He could feel the arms gripping his torso like veins, feel the muscles rippling under his touch, the body moving languidly behind him._

_His panting and moans sounded loud in the darkness._

_There was no room between them, no doubts, no worries._

_Everything will be fine._

_He's safe._

_He's home._

_He's complete._

 

**_"Mine"_ **

* * *

 

The day at the cafe progressed slowly. There was not many customers that day.  Stiles idly playing with the foam of his coffee on the counter. Erica and Isaac was chatting noisily while they were cleaning the tables. There were only one or two customers in the cafe. On a normal day, Stiles would count it as blessing. But today, he needed more works to distract him from last night's dream.

**_"Mine"_ **

He sighed. Stiles knew it was just a stupid dream. Now that he had acknowledged his Spark, he could feel the power buzzing warmly inside him. It was not a bother to him. His Spark felt just like his ADHD. Nothing new to that.

But his dream, that was new. He had longed forgotten about having a relationship. His wanted to feel a sense of belonging so bad that he knew it was just a wishful thinking. Being a 23-year-old virgin was working out for him so far. No supernatural being would want to come near to him and being himself was obnoxious enough to chase humans away too. He's okay with that.

After Danny, Stiles forced himself to forget any chance of getting somebody in his life. He was already fucked-up enough, he didn't need another person to remind him of that. He knew that he was nobody. Jackson had told him before, and now Derek told him again. Whatever. He's fine with that. He's better off alone anyway.

And last night, his Spark was telling him that he was nobody, playing sick jokes on him, conjuring stupid faraway dream. He couldn't get anybody, he's not worth it.

He woke up panting, with cum-soiled pants, body drenched in sweat and heady smell of sex in the air. Thanks, virgin body. Stiles had to take off the sheet and put it in the washing machine with his sleep pants. He had to air the room, making him late for work. Isaac's nose twitched funnily at him when he came to work that morning. He was sure his shower that morning had washed out the smell. Well, Isaac looked more and more like a puppy each day.

 "Why the long face, loser?" Erica bumped her shoulder with him, jostling him from his thoughts.

Stiles smiled tiredly at her.

"Just tired. Got lotsa things goin on, that I'm not even sure if I brushed my teeth or not this morning,"

"You did, don't worry. If not, I have smelt that carcass cave of yours when I stepped in this morning," Erica wiggled her nose funnily.

Stiles laughed at her and pulled her hair playfully. Isaac bounded to them and pulled Erica's hair too. The blonde growled at them while trying to shove both men away. They fought for a few minutes, with loud giggles

There was a throat clearing behind them, making everybody stopped. Boyd was smiling politely at the counter with a raised eyebrow.

"You look like a bunch of puppies together,"

 Stiles smiled at him while Isaac stared at him sharply, making angry puppy face. Erica pushed both of them away and tidy up her hair. She was smiling wide with her teeth, all flirty at Boyd.

"Hey handsome. How can I help you?"

Stiles could've sworn he heard Erica purring. His Catwoman had found her new chew toy.

"Good day. I would like a cup of fresh brewed coffee and a coffee latte for me. Make the coffee black, please," Boyd smiled sweetly at Erica.

"Anything else to go with that?" Erica flirted again after keying in the order.

"No, that would be all. Thank you,"

Erica was flipping her hair gracefully, trying to show her neck while glancing at Boyd with hooded eyes.

"That would be $8.95. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Stiles and Isaac was crackling behind her, staring at the flirtatious blonde.  _Go Erica!_

Boyd paid and kept on smiling at her with a glint of gold in his eyes.

"I'm sure I don't want anything that doesn't want me back. Unless it gives me a reason to actually want it," Now the eyes were shining intense gold, a hint of fangs when Boyd smirked at Erica.

Stiles stared at Boyd with wide eyes. _What was he doing? Erica was a human! No! Boyd! Fallback! Fallback!_ Stiles made a movement of slashing his throat behind Erica, telling Boyd to stop before Erica do something.

Isaac was just staring at Boyd and Stiles, confused of what was going on.

To his surprise, Erica just chuckled. "Well, big guy, maybe you should bring it home so that you could find a reason to actually want it"

_WHAT. THE. FUCK?_

Stiles heard Isaac growled lowly beside him. Then his eyes moved to Derek Hale, who was walking towards them with a scowl on his face.

"Do continue your foreplay after getting me that coffee so that I can fuck off rather than watching you guys going at it. I'm in a tight schedule here," snarled Derek.

Isaac was still staring at the Alpha, making dark rumbles in his throat. Derek just raised his eyebrow at the golden haired boy.

"And I thought you told me to put my dog on a leash," red eyes flashed dangerously at Isaac. Stiles would love to punch that smirk out off his face.

Wait.

What?

Dog?

Huh?

Isaac whimpered while looking at the floor with throat bare. Erica was snarling lowly at Derek but still bared her throat. 

"Derek, not here," Boyd's voice sounded harsh.

"Tell that to the pup. He challenged me," snapped the Alpha.

Stiles stood still, not daring to breathe. He tried to replay the whole scene again in his head. Derek called Isaac a pup? And Erica and Isaac were currently baring their throats at the Alpha. Both werewolves' eyes were gleaming.

Derek closed his eyes slowly and urged himself to calm down. He opened his hazel green eyes and looked at Stiles.

"You better watch them. I know you couldn't control your power, but these puppies, you're just sad,"

With that, Derek spun around and left the cafe.

Stiles felt like being stabbed. 

 ** _You're just sad_**.

Boyd just watched him went and sighed. He turned to the three workers with a sad smile.

"He's rude sometimes but he's a good man. I'm sorry for everything,"

Stiles was still shell-shocked of what just happened. Isaac and Erica raised up their heads and looked at Boyd. Isaac whimpered and nuzzled Stiles. The mage hugged and rubbed his back, still staring at the Beta.

Boyd just smiled at Stiles and gave Erica his name card.

"Lets meet out sometimes later. Now, I'm sure you have something to tell your friend there. My humblest apology for everything," Boyd left the cafe with his drinks after Fiona prepared for him.

Isaac was still burrowed in Stiles' neck, sniffling silently. Erica turned to him slowly with a sad smile.

"Surprise...?"

* * *

 

Both of his friends were sleeping soundly on his bed. It was crammed with three people on it but they made it work. 

_"We're werewolves Stiles,"_

Stiles stared in the darkness, trying to recap everything.

_"We didn't want to tell you before because Scott told us about Jackson. It was hard enough listening from him, we wouldn't wanna hurt you anymore,"_

_"But why? How?!"_

_"When you moved here five years ago with Scott and Allison, he warned us about you. He flashed his red eyes and told us what you went through. You were out buying lunch with Allison at that moment. The only way to protect you was to keep it as a secret. We wouldn't want it to be like this but Scott looked pained when he was telling us,"_

_Isaac just nuzzled him from where they were sitting on the couch. Erica was pacing the room, running her hands in her hair._

_"We were very careful of keeping it. Well we tried, at least. We wouldn't stay with you during full moons. Isaac would howl for you when we stayed in my apartment. He would scratch the door, calling for you. It took all of my control not to sniff you the next day. Isaac, being a puppy he is, thought it was okay to do that. I was scared if you ever found out, every time Isaac growled at you or nuzzled you. But you looked fine, even hugged him or rub him back like a real puppy,"_

_Stiles was silent for a while, trying to be angry at them. But he couldn't. With Isaac's cute snuffling and Erica's glassy puppy eyes, Stiles couldn't found even a speck of anger in himself._

_He just smiled at Erica and opened his arms. Erica's tears dropped while she pounced Stiles. Isaac kept on nuzzling his neck, trying to absorb his scent._

With both werewolves wrapping him up like a hot burrito, Stiles just smiled to the ceiling, thinking, perhaps everything will be fine with them.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter.  
> I promise to be back tomorrow. Got lotsa things to do today.
> 
> Mistakes are mine and my love is yours :-*
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated <3

* * *

After the incident, Boyd and Derek didn't come to the cafe again. Several days had passed without them and Stiles preferred it that way. Well, not with Boyd. Boyd was practically his brother-in-law now. Erica was all smiley and giggly every time she texted somebody on her phone. Stiles knew she had been whipped by the dark skinned wolf. Boyd's calm and collect self would ground her. And Erica would make him a little wild, being feisty and energetic. They were made for each other. They're  **_Mate_ ** . Stiles remembered what Scott told him before, how he felt that Allison was his mate. Even though the human hunter was literally the opposite of the Alpha, Scott knew that she's the one. Allison's father, Chris Argent, didn't approve it at first, forcing Scott to prove himself to the hunter leader. They finally got together after a year and Stiles couldn't be happier for the couple.

Erica and Boyd; now that even Stiles knew that they're mate. Stiles once answered her phone without looking at the ID, while Erica was in the bathroom.

_"Yellow!"_

**_"Erm. Hello. Is Erica around?"_ **

_"She's in the bathroom. This' Stiles. Who's this?"_

**_"Hello, Mr. Stilinski. It's Boyd"_ **

_"Boyd, my man! Howya doin?"_

**_"I'm fine, Mr. Stilinski"_ **

_"Dude, just call me Stiles like everybody else. My dad is Mr. Stilinski"_

**_"*chuckled* Yes. Well, if it's okay with you, could you tell Erica that I called her. She called me this evening but I was in a meeting"_ **

_"Ouh hubba hubba. Answering the lady now huh, Boyd?"_

**_"*chuckled* Well, if that what makes my lady happy, then yes"_ **

_"Just don't forget to invite me to your wedding later, dude. I have killer dance moves!"_

**_"I'm sure you do"_ **

_"Stiles? What are doing? Who are you talking to?!". Erica flashed her golden eyes while squealing when she entered the room, trying to grab the phone frantically._

_"Heel, woman! Jeez! It's not like I'm gonna steal your man!" Stiles put the phone on speaker while running away from Erica around the bedroom. "Boyd, dude, are you sure you want her as your lady?" cackled Stiles with Erica shouting madly behind him.  
_

**_"Stiles, please give the phone to Erica"_ **

_"She's trying to claw me dude!!! Erica, stop! No! Bad girl! Bad Erica!"_

**_"Erica, please stop chasing Stiles"_ **

_With Boyd's low grumble, Erica's steps slowed down. She was still staring at Stiles, ready to pounce him again._

_"Dude, she's staring me like I'm her next snack"_

**_"Well, it was your fault in the first place, Stiles"_ **

_Erica was still growling at Stiles, tracking his every move._

_**"Erica. Please baby"**  
_

_Erica's growl slowly faltered to rumbles and her golden eyes changed to deep brown._

_" **Good.** **Now say sorry to Stiles"**_

_"Sorry Stiles," grumbled Erica. "But he was a jackass!"_

**_"He didn't mean it. He's just a jackass"_ ** _, chuckled Boyd._ _**"Now, Stiles, can I talk to Erica now?"** _

_"Fine. It's your funeral man," Stiles threw the phone to Erica while grinning at her._

_Erica caught it midair and snarled at Stiles, pushing him out of the room._

_"Don't forget that I'm in the house guys. Don't moan so much, Erica!," teased Stiles._

Boyd was what Erica needed and Erica brought the real Boyd out. Stiles' happy as long as the couple's happy and took care of each other. Or he would have Boyd's balls on fire. _Fireballs_ , snorted Stiles.

On the other hand, the stupidly handsome Alpha that went by the name of Hale, didn't appeal Stiles and he would really love to set the wolf on fire. He tried to find anything good about the Alpha but there was none. First impression is important and Stiles hated him vehemently ever since their first meeting. Derek kept on getting on his nerves. He didn't do anything and yet the wolf kept on throwing insults at him. 

Stiles understood that he's very unlikable. His sarcasms was his only best defense. After so long of being bullied, Stiles got tired of it and tried to keep everything to himself. He would be really grateful if people just ignored him. He had faced so much and he only had his bony self to keep. 

What he didn't understand was, why did Derek's words offended him so much? Jackson was an ass and Stiles managed to rolled his eyes away and forget about him. He handled Danny's harsh rejection coolly. He tolerated everything in his life effortlessly.

But why was it so difficult to ignore the wolf?

The memory of his dreams kept on coming back to him every time he remembered Derek.

_Hard arms that were forceful around him, keeping him safe._

_Fingers that roused his desire._

_Taut body that sheltered his frame._

_Stubble that skim his flushed skin._

_Fangs that riveted his pulse._

_Heated tongue trying to soothe his temperature._

_Long legs that hold the majestic build._

_Red eyes that burned him inside out._

**_"Mine"_ **

He needed to get laid, fast. He's getting pathetic each day with the dreams. His Spark kept on playing the freaking thing over and over again each night. Every morning, he would wake up to sweaty skin and ruined sheets and pants. Even Isaac couldn't meet his eyes every time they talked now and then. 

Physically, Derek was gorgeous, Stiles wouldn't deny that. But he felt like he was drawn to him by something else each time he recalled the wolf. His Spark would whirl around merrily, like it wanted to come out and play.

He really needed to get laid.

* * *

 

Deaton called Stiles a week later, asking him to come down to his house for their first class. The old mage gave Stiles his address and he asked Erica to send him to the mansion. He left his most trusted jeep back in Beacon Hills, along with the memories of his mother. 

It was a sunny Saturday when Stiles got into the big house. Deaton's maid, Sandra, took him into the mage's office. Sandra ushered him in and closed the door. The dark skinned man was currently on the phone with someone when Stiles sat on the chair.

"Yes, that would be all. Thank you," Deaton hung up and looked at him.

"That was Derek. I asked him to come down and work this together. We're going to introduce your Spark to its Alpha to call it out. That way, it won't hurt Derek later and maybe we could see how powerful you are, hmm?"

"Yeah sure. As long as you're there to control me, I'm down with it,"

Deaton smiled approvingly.

"Stiles, I'm don't what you have been telling yourself all these while, but I'm not trying to control you like an animal. Derek isn't going to control you. We're going to help you to bring yourself out, to embrace your Spark. Your Spark is you. If you think that we're trying to tame your Spark like what you have said, then you're wrong. The Spark is a pure energy. You don't restrain it, you channel it. Just like Claudia, we want you to welcome the power. Welcome yourself. And we can't get it out if you don't welcome yourself,"

Stiles smiled sadly while looking at his lap.

"All my life I've been telling myself to contain it. I messed everything up. Everybody was scared of me. I couldn't save my mom, I couldn't hold myself from shattering everything around me when I have panic attacks. I couldn't even feel my power. So, how am I gonna welcome it now? The Spark was a part of me before my mom died. We used it everyday because I felt safe to let it run free with my mom. But after that, I had to handle it alone. I'm scared it would hurt others around me. I'm scared of myself,"

Deaton sighed and got up from his seat. He walked to the shelf and took out the Guardian book. Stiles was already used to disappointed sighs. His dad made the noise a lot around him. Jackson even threw  _"Stupid Stilinski. You're such an embarrassment in this life"_  at him constantly before. Derek smacked him around with his insults like he's just a fly. So he's not surprise when Deaton did it.

"Stiles, your mother didn't asked to be saved. She knew she had a cancer. I offered to heal her. Talia even brought her to me. But she denied everybody, saying that it's there for a reason. If a mage of Life decline life herself, who are we to stop her. Claudia let her Spark out every time she's with you. She wanted to show you how to use it when you have the power later. She was encouraging you to try it, to be friend with your Spark. Before she died, she asked Talia and the Guardians to look over for you. She told me that you're special, Stiles. You're more powerful than she was," Deaton went to Stiles and sat on the seat next to him. 

He showed a page where a pack of wolves, with a big black werewolf at the front, was howling to the sky. The same women as he saw before, the Guardian, was smiling down at them. The Guardian looked like a spirit, floating and glowing. Like a moon.

"Have you heard about 'Alpha Mate', Stiles?"

Stiles stared at Deaton and shook his head.

"You see, every werewolf has a mate. The wolf would know who its mate is by instinct. The human side wouldn't know this but they would feel the mating pull. Werewolves would usually mate between them, to ensure the continuity of the pack. But in some case cases, they would mate with other kinds too. For example, with a human,"

"With a hunter," said Stiles automatically.

Deaton raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well, my friend, Scott, is an Alpha and his mate, Allison, is a hunter. It was hard for them at first but yeah, they're together," said Stiles.

"Yes. Like them. The first mating happened between an Alpha, a pack leader and his Guardian, hundreds of years ago. The Alpha chose his Guardian because their powers were so strong that they needed each other to stabilize it. The dominant part of the Alpha provided the strength to his packmates, while the Guardian intensified it. Due to this union, the pack stood strong even until now. A werewolf that mates an Alpha would just be a mate, as other werewolves have that too. But an Alpha Mate is for those who mated to the leader of the pack. Your friend, Allison, would be an Alpha Mate if her Alpha were to take over a pack one day,"

Go Scott!

Deaton stopped his explanation and looked straight in his eyes, "And you, Stiles, are the descendant of the Guardian, the first Alpha Mate. I've read about you after your mother told me of the things that happened to you when you were small. And I'm guessing this bully of yours when you were in high school was an Alpha, correct?"

Stiles nodded slowly.

"You Spark attract Alphas to you, due to your origin. But because of your power, they took you as a threat. I would say that those bullying you got when you were young, was an act of defense. As the wolf side saw you as a threat, the human side was confused by it. Wolf relies on instincts and their instincts were telling them that you were the enemy,"

"Wait!" Stiles' getting dizzy. "Scott didn't try to attack me. We're even brothers,"

"Your friend, Scott, has his mate with him all along. And even before that, his wolf probably already regarded you as pack. But I'm not so sure with your first meeting, though," asked Deaton.

Well, Scott did try to bite him but his mom was there when they first met at the age of five. So Scott just snarled at him all day, while Stiles' mother just smiled at the wolf.

"Oh. Right. Yeah, missed that one out," 

Deaton smiled at him.

Before he could continue, there was a knock on the door. 

"Come in,"

Sandra opened the door and there was Derek behind her. His scowly face looked different today. Oh right. He trimmed the stubble. Stiles avoided his glance and looked at the Guardian book.

"Oh yes, Derek. Please have a seat," Deaton got up and went back to the other side of the table.

Derek sat on the seat next to Stiles. He could feel the glare of the man, burning holes through the side of his face.

"Would you like anything? I could as Sandra to make for you," Deaton offered.

"No, I'm fine. Lets get this over with quickly. I have other things to do,"

Stiles really hated the Alpha.

"Derek.. Be nice," scolded the old mage.

Derek just huffed.

"So Stiles, do you understand everything?"

Stiles raised up his eyes and looked at Deaton, still refusing a glance to the werewolf. He nodded.

"Good! Well then, I would like you to meet  Derek Hale, the descendant of the Alpha to the Alpha Mate,"

Well. He's fucked now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. I had to clean up my stuff cz i just came back from a trip. So here's a longer chapter as an apology *bows*  
> Working on the next chapter now!
> 
> *reads the chapter* Mistakes. mistakes *sigh*  
> Well, on with the story!

* * *

Derek didn't look surprise with everything. He already knew who Stiles was all along. Well, he **had** to know because Stiles' his Guardian. 

"Mom wanted to meet you sometime. She's busy now though," was the first thing he said to him.

Stiles stared at him unblinkingly, with a dumb face.

Deaton stood up with a knowing smile. "Well, lets move this outside, shall we? Wouldn't want to hinder your power. And I'm quite fond of my office,"

Stiles stood up and followed Deaton outside of the house. The lawn was big, fenced by tall bushes. He could feel Derek's body heat from where he was next to him. _But they're not that close. Huh? Weird_.

Deaton talked while they were walking to the middle of the lawn, "Now Stiles, your Spark attacked Derek that night at the cafe. It amplified twice because Derek was using his dominant side with you, when he brought out the wolf. And because of your panic attack that shook your Spark awake, you tried to shield yourself from Derek. The energy got confused with this clash and burnt Derek with the enhanced power that he got from the wolf in order to protect you,"

The old mage stopped and turned around at the couple, "And we can't have that. So today, I want you to let the Spark out, to let it get to know Derek and his wolf. Close your eyes and try to let go of your Spark, Stiles. Derek's dominance will help you in empowering it to come out. So don't block Derek".

Stiles glanced at Derek for a few seconds and looked back to Deaton. The Alpha was staring at him with flared nostrils.

"Derek, I want you to control your wolf. I know your being is confused with the force. So, I need you to will the creature to accept Stiles as your Guardian, that the Spark is not a threat. I want both of you to let your inner self familiarize with each other first, like friends".

"Yeah, tell that to the person who still wanted to rip my throat out," snorted Stiles.

Derek scowled deeply at the young mage. " Yeah, Deaton. That might be a little hard for. Still tempted to just finish this little shit off,"

Stiles rolled his eyes at that.  _Yeah, so original._

Deaton sighed at the childish couple.

"Both of you need to work together in order to balance the power. And by that, I need you to play nice. The faster you let your supernatural sides accustom with one another, the faster we could work everything out," 

Derek still kept on hunching over with a pout on his face like some brooding sicko he was, not stepping down. Stiles sighed and looked away. _So not worth it._  "Fine. Lets get this over with," and closed his eyes and searched for the Spark.

He spent several minutes locating the power. He tried to look for it but there was nothing to indicate its whereabouts.

"Will your Spark to let it show itself. Call out to the Spark, Stiles. It is a part of you,"

With Deaton's voice, Stiles took a deep breath, calming himself, trying to imagine his mother. Her kiss.

 _ **You are my Spark**._  

He was unaware of his surroundings as all the sounds getting tuned out slowly. He could only hear the wind and feel the warmth of the sun but it was like he's alone. He gradually forgot about Deaton, about Derek. About the world.

After several moments, then suddenly, he felt some kind of glow in his stomach.  _There you are._ He called it out, like his mother calling out to him. It was dancing swiftly there, as if it was saying " _You found me!_ " before moving to his heart. He smiled to himself.

_**You are my Spark.**_

Stiles put his hands on his heart and rubbed it slowly as if he was stroking the Spark like a dog. He imagined his mother caressing his hair, whispering sweet nothings. It then beat with the rhythm of his heart.  _Yes, I'm here_. The mage didn't feel so lonely anymore.

It gradually spread throughout his body and Stiles could feel it sizzled in the air around him. Just like that night at the hospital. 

_I am Spark. I am you. We are each other._

Tears were rolling down his cheeks. The Spark reminded him of his mother so much.

The force encasing him in warmth like it was giving Stiles a hug. He could feel light touches on his cheeks, as if it was giving kisses. Like old friends greeting each other. _Like a mother hugging and kissing her son_.

Oh how he missed this. How he missed his mother that he ached for it.

Then he felt another presence. Red eyes staring at them from the side.

The Spark stopped its caress to Stiles and stayed close by his side, eyeing the wolf cautiously.

It was trying to figure out the dominant being; an enemy or a friend.

_Is he your friend?_

Stiles encouraged the Spark to go to the other being, with his will.

_Is he Our friend?_

Even the Spark was nervous with a new entity after so long of being trapped inside. Stiles blamed himself for its hesitancy.

Stiles willed the Spark more to approach the wolf.

It finally moved slowly to the wolf, stopping several steps in front of it.

_Who are you?_

Stiles could imagine wide big eyes staring at the wolf.

He heard the slow growls.

_That's not nice._

Stiles metaphorically rolled his eyes. Even their powers acted as themselves. He could imagine the wolf getting bopped with a newspaper if it keeps this on.

His Spark was still staring at the wolf, waiting for it.

Tentatively, the wolf approached the energy and sniffed at it curiously. Stiles could feel the air around him tensed up.

The animal stopped growling and gave a few licks to the Spark.

_Hey, that tickles!_

The wolf just huffed and continued his licking.

The Spark was now giggling like a baby, trying to get away from the wolf.

_You're funny!_

The Spark gave way for the wolf to scent it. Laughing excitedly like it was being tickled.

There were crackles in the air around them.

Stiles smiled at his Spark.  _It is so young._

After a while of scenting each other, the wolf just nuzzled the Spark, feeling content with the closeness.

Stiles began to call back his inner self, telling him to come home.

The low growling surprised him.

_Don't worry. He's me. But I need to go now. Lets play again later!_

The wolf was still growling but mildly, as if it's on guard while his friend getting ready to leave.

The Spark patted the dog and went back to Stiles, enveloping him with warmth again.

The mage felt it flowed into him and settled blissfully in his heart.

_You're not alone anymore. **We're** not alone anymore._

"Thank you," Stiles whispered to the Spark.

Years of being isolated from the others, lost and scared of himself, with nobody there to bring out the real him. To be with him if he fails. To tell him that everything will be okay. To protect him. To make he feel like home. _To complete him._  

He felt more tears sliding down his cheeks, feeling free at last.

Slowly, he could hear the chirping of the birds, the wind on his skin. The heat plastered behind him.

Huh?

He opened his eyes, blinked out the tears and saw a pair of tanned arms holding him from behind.

There was somebody nuzzling his neck, breathing in his scent slowly; like a puppy.

Stiles tried to get out of the holding but the arms just got tighter with a hint of growl.

Derek was holding him close, inhaling deep breath on his neck, absorbing the scent like it calmed the wolf.

"Derek?" he breathed slowly.

He could feel the vibration in his whole body, as if the Alpha was purring. Stiles was dumbstrucked.

The body felt strong like he was being shielded from the world, keeping him safe. The muscles were warm around him. He felt calm and complete. Like he belonged there. Like he's home.

Then gently, the arms let him go but still kept him close. Stiles turned in the embrace slowly and looked at Derek. 

The man had hazy red eyes, as if he just woke up from a nap. His nose twitches adorably, irritated with whoever that disturbed his slumber. He was pouting with scrunched eyebrows. He looked like a puppy rather than an Alpha.

Stiles felt his heart faltered a bit.

Derek's eyes slowly returned to its original colour, to the beautiful hazel green. He blinked around, trying to clear up the haze. 

"Wha happen'd?"

The Alpha was still holding him in his arms, keeping their bodies together.

Stiles pulled his chin to his chest, trying to cover up his blush. He coughed awkwardly. 

That made Derek to realize what he was doing and jerked his hands back, making Stiles to fall on the floor, on his ass. The wolf stared at him and his hands like they betrayed him. What was that?!

Stiles just rolled his eyes and stood up again, rubbing his butt. _That hurt, you bastard_.

Deaton walked to them calmly with a smile on his face.

"That was excellent. Derek's wolf has identified the Spark as a potential for his mate and they both looked fine to me. More than fine, I must say," Deaton's knowing smile made Stiles' heart beat a little faster. Just a little.

Then he looked at Stiles pointedly with a frown, "You, however, was quiet worrying. Did you feel anything other than the Spark?"

Stiles tried to recall back the session. He didn't feel other things while he was communicating with his power. The world was silent, as if only he and his Spark were the only things existed. He shook his head. "No. I only sensed the Spark, nothing else,"

Deaton scrunched his eyebrows. "Just what I have suspected. Your power actually pulled you in, not the other way around. That's why you couldn't feel your surroundings. A Life mage has to have a strong connection with everything around him. But you, you were unable to get anything. Your Spark brought you in its world. I believe that after years of being trapped, your Spark doesn't trust other things outside of its world. It won't let you to have any ties with anything at all, as if it was playing with you; making you to choose between your power or the others. And of course, you chose your mother's Spark,"

Derek snorted at that. "That cleared up who's the baby here,"

Stiles just glared at him. "Well I'm not the only one who got sucked in. Your power is as immature as I am,"

Deaton smiled at that remark. "Derek's wolf saw you as a threat at first. Being an Alpha leader, his wolf doesn't take unknown energy well. But when he saw your playful Spark manifested itself, he got curious. I suppose he jumped into the dimension just to poke at it,"

"Pfft. Invading others' privacy. I should get a restraining order against you," smirked Stiles.

Derek glared at the mage, while Stiles glared back. Neither was willing to submit.

Deaton chuckled at the antics and walked away into his house. "Come along now,"

Stiles stuck out his tongue at Derek and the wolf snapped his teeth at him. The mage just rolled his eyes and walked ahead of him, into Deaton's office. 

"Your Spark is more powerful than I thought it is. I believe that the energy was resting without any suitable Alpha to bring it out before. But now, with Derek next to you, you could channel the force properly, showing its true potential. You just amaze me each day, Stiles," chuckled the old mage.

Derek snorted at that and mumbled, "Who needs a babysitter now?". Stiles was still waiting the day when he could just set the pompous prick on fire.

"Alpha Hale! I know you have something to tell Stiles now that he's in training with me, correct?" Deaton was facing his shelves, putting away his books. He pressed the name a little to signal that he meant business.

Derek folded his arms on his chest and glowered at Stiles. Those muscles were not doing anything to him. Nope. Not a thing.

"You will quit your job at the cafe to make time for your training here,"

That cut him off from his dilemmas. 

"What?! Are fucking with me?! No way man! You're delirious!" squawked Stiles. Derek had taken his self-esteem from him from time to time, he wouldn't let the Alpha take his life now.

"Don't call me 'man'!" roared Derek.

Seriously, who was this guy?!

Deaton interrupted the yelling calmly, turning to them. "Stiles, we will need more time other than the weekends. I prefer not to have such a long gap in between our training as it will weaken the previous one. We need to keep the flow of your power continuously opened in order for you to let it out. Not only that, it would save us more time and energy by working it regularly. Gaps will only make you exhausted if you were to call out the same thing over and over again or at once because the Spark kept on going back in,"

Stiles didn't sign up for this. He has been working in the cafe since three years ago. There's no way he's going to just quit everything. What would happen to Isaac and Erica?

"I don't shit money like you, Derek. So the job is pretty much the only thing that's keeping me alive all these years," Stiles spat out bitterly.

Derek just huffed out impatiently and double his effort in glaring at Stiles. Can werewolf even do that?

"I will give you money each month to compensate everything. You can still stay at your apartment with your puppies but you would come here everyday to practice with Deaton. Boyd and I will work out a fixed time for him to send you here in the morning and fetch you in the evening. If you need anything, you can ask Boyd to tell me,"

Now that was harsh. Stiles felt like a kid being told what to do, being sent away to 'school' with somebody, being fed with money without any say in it. Derek seriously needed to back off now.

"It still amazes me how you are still alive with that big cocky head of yours. If you think that I'm going to accept everything, then you're fucking stupid!"

Derek flinched at that and let his eyes bled red.

"Now, here's the deal. Quitting the job, that's fine. I understand that. But you can take your money, Boyd and your fucking ego and shove them up your ass. I don't need your money, I don't need your anything because I can still take care of myself. I'm so done with you looking down on me like I'm some kind of a scum who are not worth of breathing the same air with you. You think that you are high and mighty than the others because of your place in the hierarchy? Well tough luck man, 'cause you're messing with the wrong person. I'm not one of your monkey-brained groupies that would grovel and worship the ground that you walk on. I don't need your approval to live. I don't even need as much as your glance to survive my day. In fact, you're the one who need me. You're the one who should beg for me to stay with your pack so that you would have a playgroup later. By all means, go ahead and call the other mages to balance the power. I'll watch gladly from afar. And when those Guardians finally got their heads out of their asses, saw your stupid big head without a balance pack and blow your fucking ego up, I'm gonna sit at the front row with popcorn. Until then, I'm gonna keep on training with Deaton here to actually improve myself rather than growling and snapping my teeth at people with 'I'm Momma's Boy' on my forehead to make them submit to me".

Stiles turned to grab his bag on the seat, nodded at Deaton and walked out with his head held high. He refused to look at Derek. He didn't have to look at him to see the furry face. 

He got that a lot even from before.

* * *

 Stiles walked around the town with Erica after he called her to fetch him from Deaton's house. He walked away from the house by himself while waiting for Erica to get over there. He couldn't face Derek. He had enough of Derek treating him like shit. He's better than that. A week of nothing and suddenly Derek thought he could just kick him to the ground? He didn't need the wolf. **The wolf** needed him. 

_You're a parasite, Stilinski. And parasites need to be killed!_

_I want this to be fixed._

_You are defective._

Stiles sighed to himself. He already felt tired. 

Erica fetched him by the side of the road and took him to the market to pick things for tonight's dinner.

It would be a special dinner, since Boyd would be joining them for the first time. Erica was fussing over the menu, while Stiles just calmly putting things in their cart. He would make roasted steak with gravy, cheesy garlic bread, fresh salad and potatoes. Simple and elegant. Isaac was ecstatic with it as the puppy loved meat so much. Another thing of being a werewolf.

They were currently at the toiletries aisle. Stiles was putting toilet rolls in the cart.

"So how was the session with Grumpy McSteamy?" Erica wiggled her eyebrows at Stiles.

He just rolled his eyes at the name and proceeded to the kitchen section. His heart didn't throb a little. Nope. He just suddenly remembered that they were running out of detergent and dish soap at the apartment. Yep. Just that.

"Don't let Boyd hear you. I don't need another brood ass in my life," snorted Stiles.

"I don't know about you, but thanks to that brood ass, I couldn't sleep last Wednesday night. I heard you moaned his name while you're sleeping. And don't get me started on the smell. What's up with that?" frowned Erica, halting him abruptly.

Stiles blushed furiously. He didn't know that he was saying Derek's name while he was having those dreams. Why was it even Derek?! Stupid virgin body with stupid virgin mouth and stupid Alpha!

"What? You're ridiculous," Stiles pushed the cart quickly through the aisle towards the cashier. The faster they go back to the apartment, the safer he would be.

"Now, **YOU'RE** ridiculous. Don't try to run away, loser!" Erica grabbed his collar and hauled him backwards. Stiles choked and flushed more brightly.

"You weren't like that before. And you could bet your virgin twink ass to me 'cause I know. After McSteamy barged into your life two weeks ago, you're suddenly unconsciously sexually active with you left hand. So, tell me now what's going on with you or I'm gonna shake you till you throw up your balls through your mouth," Erica flashed her golden eyes at Stiles.

 _Fuck_. Stiles didn't know he was doing it. Never on purpose. He would prefer death than admitting that he's attracted to the wolf sexually. He's a 23-year-old virgin boy with no experience at all. AT. ALL. Perhaps maybe a kiss. Well, if you would call a faceplanting with Scott when they fought over the tv controller at his home was a kiss. Stiles had never been touched before. So, he's not responsible for his stupid body if his Spark decided to conjure up those sick jokes and made him wanted to kill himself most of the time.

He tried to break free from the choke and whimpered a little. _This bitch is strong! Stupid weak scrawny virgin body!_

"NEVAH! Erica! Let me go, you crazy psycho!" choked Stiles.

"Nuh-uh. You owe me some story, loser!" The blonde wolf then shook him, making his eyes teary. "Come on! Spit it out!"

Suddenly, there was a growl behind her and she was being snatched away.

Stiles dropped on the ground, gasping for air. He tried to take in what was happening around him. The clattering of things on the ground, the roaring, the snarling, the yelling.

"Derek! Stop that! Let her go! She didn't mean it!"

Boyd?

Another loud roar boomed.

"Derek, look! Stiles is fine! He's here! He's fine! Derek!"

Derek?

Erica's heartbreaking whimper brought his attention to the view in front of him.

A few feet away, Derek was holding Erica by her throat, shoving her up the market shelves several inches off the ground. People were staring at them. He could see two guards behind Derek, ready to take him down. Boyd was trying to wrench the Alpha's deathly grip from his girlfriend. Erica's Beta eyes were glowing wide on her red face, struggling to breathe and whining at the Alpha's.

Derek looked like a beast. His body was tensed, in an attack stance; muscles bunched, hackles raised. The veins on his neck popped out, right hand gripping tightly around Erica's throat, cutting off her air bit by bit. Stiles could see claws on his left hand, spasming violently; holding back from shredding the female wolf. His face was covered with fur and fangs were snapping at her face fiercely.

His blood red eyes looked hollow.

Stiles couldn't move. Couldn't breathe properly.  _What the hell?_

 

It took him a few seconds to realize that Boyd was frantically calling his name.

"Stiles! Make him stop! Snap him out of it!"

Stiles scrambled up to his feet and to the feral Alpha.

He put his hands on the Alpha's back. The snarl that greeted him made him jerked away a step behind. This was not the Derek that he knew.

"Derek! Stiles, now!"

Stiles took a deep breath and approached him one more time.

He put his hands on Derek's arm, willing his Spark to grow.  _Help me. Help him._

The energy spread to his hands, making the wolf stared at him murderously.

"Derek. Please let Erica go. She didn't mean it," Stiles looked into his eyes while telling him softly, trying to calm the beast down.

Derek jerked his eyes from the mage and snarled loudly at Erica as she struggled herself free again.

Stiles put his hands on his Alpha's face and wrench his stare away.

"Please, Derek. For me,"

The wolf's nostrils flared, taking in the familiar scent. He knew this power. He knew this mage. He knew _**his mate**_.

He dropped Erica on the ground and tugged Stiles to his body, planting his face in the Guardian's neck, devouring the calm scent.

The warmth that engulfed him cut off his surroundings.

_Safe. Home. Complete._

"Mine"

His heart beat wildly against his chest. 

"Mine"

His Spark settled calmly in his heart, purring with the wolf. He could feel all his anxiousness leaving him. Derek's body cradled him fiercely and gently at the same time, trying to shield him from the world.

"Mine"

The deep rumble brought him back to his dreams. The heated passion, those silky promises, those assurances. Making Stiles' body tingled all over.

He heard Boyd's voice, dragging him out of the haze.

"I'm sorry for everything. He's an Alpha leader and he was just protecting his mate," The guards looked panic, while the other patrons were whispering curiously at them.

"Don't worry. He's fine now. His mate has calmed him down,"

Stiles could imagine how they looked right now. An Alpha mate calming his Alpha down. Like real mates.

Stiles snorted at that image. He had long given up on that chance of happiness.

The group finally fell away, leaving with interested glances. Boyd was holding Erica now, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. Erica buried her face in her mate's chest, whimpering and sobbing quietly.

 

Stiles mouthed 'Is she okay?' to Boyd. The man just smiled at him and gave a small nod. Stiles felt relaxed. _Thank God_.

The grumbling stopped when Derek slowly took his head out of the mage's neck. The same puppy face greeted him.

"Hey there, Sourwolf," smiled Stiles softly.

Derek looked confused again, looking at Boyd with Erica and Stiles. He let the mage go gently but still keeping his left hand on his waist and hold Stiles' face gently with his right hand.

"Are you okay? Did she hurt you?" whispered Derek.

Stiles smiled softly at the affection. Derek's worried about him.

"I'm fine. But I'm not so sure about her though," he glanced at his friend. Erica was nodding to whatever Boyd was whispering in her right ear.

"Well, it's her fault," Derek snarled at her.

Stiles closed his eyes and chuckled. His Alpha was sure a baby. A protective baby, that is.

"What happened?"

Stiles opened his eyes and looked at the Alpha.

"We were just playing around. She teased me, I tried to get away and she shook my brain out. Nothing threatening," 

The Alpha just nodded, satisfied that his mate was safe.

"What are you doing here, though?" Stiles asked Derek.

Derek released him and looked over to the other couple. "Boyd dragged me along 'cause he wanted to get some wine or something for tonight's dinner at your place. I didn't have any choice," shrugged the man.

Stiles followed his gaze and looked at the couple too who were walking over to them.

"Are you okay, Stiles?" asked Boyd.

"Yeah, I'm good. What about you, Erica?" Stiles smiled gently at the female wolf in front of him.

Boyd looked at Erica by his side, encouraging her to speak. Erica peaked shyly at Stiles and chance a glance at the Alpha. Derek growled silently at her, making her jerked her eyes down on the floor.

"Derek, please," scolded Stiles. The wolf just rolled his eyes and folded his hands on his chest with a pout.

_God, give me strength._

"Erica?" Stiles touched her hair, bringing her watery eyes to him. 

"Sorry, Stiles," sniffed Erica.

Stiles smiled at her fondly while dragging her in a hug. And if there was a small growling behind him, he ignored it.

"Awh honey. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Derek was just being a baby. Don't worry. You'll never hurt me. And I could never get mad at you. So you don't owe anything to me, okay?" Stiles rubbed Erica's back soothingly, smiling at Boyd.

He released her and looked at her wet face, "But I know **who** owes you an apologize, though"

Stiles turned to Derek and waited for him to make a move. The wolf just raised an eyebrow at the mage with a frown.

"Derek, Erica's waiting," Stiles made a face and moved his eyes to Erica, motioning at the stupid Alpha to talk to her.

They kept their charade a few seconds before Derek just rolled his eyes and sighed. The mage grinned triumphantly.

The wolf took a few steps to Erica and stood in front of her, making her flinched. With hands on both sides, chest out, nostrils flaring on the scowly face, a mumbled "Sorry" came out from Derek. The pout should be illegal.

Stiles couldn't help but snickered at the sight.  _It's a start._ _  
_

The tension broke when Boyd chuckled lowly and Stiles couldn't help it but bowling with laughter until tears sprang out of his eyes.

The Alpha just glared at both of them, while Erica smiled shyly at the floor.

The Guardian wiped his eyes and giggled at Derek.

"Well done, big bad. A few more of those and you might just make it in Santa's list this year," Derek just fold his hands again and glared away with a pout.

Stiles patted his arms and looked at the other wolves. "I don't know about you Erica but I think we should head back now. I have to start the dinner for your man to come to".

Erica nodded at him and hugged Boyd. Her mate kissed her hair affectionately, murmuring with tender voice.

The mage turned to his Alpha and asked, "What are you doing tonight?"

Derek looked at him and shrugged, "Still got yesterday's takeouts in the fridge".

"Well, why don't you come to the dinner too," Erica's sincere voice chirped in suddenly.

"We haven't really hang out together, other than you making me and Isaac submit to you the first time we met and choking me to death just now," Erica glanced at Stiles, asking for his approval. Stiles nodded at her.

"Only if you want to," he looked at Derek with a smile.

Derek just stared at both of them like they just sprouted new heads.

"Stiles' cooking will kill you faster than those takeouts. He's like the god of cookery," Erica grinned at Derek like a puppy.

The mage just blushed away, avoiding his gaze. He could feel piercing hazel eyes at the side of his face.

"Yeah. I'm gonna need a wingman in case they try to grill me tonight," Boyd patted Derek's shoulder with an encouraging smirk.

Stiles forced his heart to slow down. It's not that he felt anything special towards Derek. Nope. Yeah, he was mad before but the Alpha's protectiveness melted that away. And the image of a pouty wolf eating by himself in a room, silently, just broke his heart. It's just that. Besides, they got enough food to feed extra mouths. So Derek would do their fridge a favor.

And even if the wolf decline the offer, Stiles would go on like nothing happened without feeling a thing. Not even slightly disappointed with it. It's not like he had a crush on the man. 'Cause that would be ridiculous. 

"Sure"

Well that was unexpected.

Derek looked relaxed, just smiled at Stiles when he stared at the wolf with wide eyes.

"But if I got poisoned, we're gonna have your heart for breakfast tomorrow. With me cooking," smirked the arrogant bastard.

 

Not before he literally crush the older man with his power.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I got distracted with babies, cats and kittens on youtube XDD  
> But I forced myself to write something for you guys. It's not much but at least something till i write the next chapter.  
> And now my brain just fried.
> 
> Mistakes are mine~

* * *

"Stiles! Where's my hair dryer?!"

"Stiles! Is it done yet?!"

"Stiles! Do I look fat in this jeans?!"

"Stiles! Can I have some of the potatoes? I'm hungry!"

"Stiles! What should I do with my hair?!"

"Stiles! I call out the biggest steak! Don't give that to Erica later, okay?!"

Seriously, these puppies were driving him up the walls. Here he was,  ** _trying_**  to prepare the dinner (the keyword here is TRYING) while Isaac kept on following him around, asking for food like a puppy and Erica freaking out while getting ready for Boyd. Stiles was still in the same blue t-shirt and black jeans, running around their kitchen, ** _trying_** to actually cook.

Isaac, blessed that boy, was tasting the potatoes, the salad and garlic bread. Stiles won't be surprised later if there was still some space in that puppy for dinner. Sometimes, he questioned werewolf ability. 

Erica ran into the kitchen and squealed, "Come on! Come on! I need comments! How do I look?!"

She was wearing a sleeveless dress; the top part was white with some gold and black patterns, the bottom was black. It looked like a high-waisted skirt that stopped just a few inches above her knees, making her looked more voluptuous. The black knee high gladiator heels accentuated her long legs. Her wavy thick hair was neatly pulled in a waterfall braid, with some strands free, to make her look sexy. Her mascara and eyeliner brought out the brown in her eyes. The smokey eyeshadow made her looked like a predator. Her red luscious lips stood out on her face, inviting them to be kissed.

"So? What do you think?" Erica urged again with a frustrated voice.

"You look like a slut," snorted Isaac with his mouth full of potatoes. 

Erica growled at him, flashing her eyes and the other puppy growled and flashed his back. Great. Just what Stiles needed in his messy kitchen.

"Stop that, you two!" Stiles smacked both wolves' head with the salad spatula.

He eyed Erica again calculatingly, "Erica, you look beautiful. But maybe you should be easy on Boyd, hmm? Tone down your eyeshadow a bit and your lips, put a nude colour on. Well, I'm not sure about your dress though but as long as you don't pumped out your breasts, you are good to go," the mage winked at the female Beta.

Isaac shoved a spoonful of salad into his mouth that he stole from the salad bowl.

Damn that puppy! He was still preparing it!

"What Stiles meant was, **IF** your breasts could restrain themselves from popping out at Boyd's face," snickered Isaac.

Erica took Stiles' spatula from his hand and smacked the puppy twice. She even tugged on one of his curls, making him growl.

"I'm taking the biggest steak and you can just go to hell, shitface," Erica went out of the kitchen and into Isaac's room, slamming the door.

Stiles rolled his eyes and sighed. One of these days, he's going to lock them both out. 

He took the spatula and rubbed the puppy's head at the spot where Erica hit him. Isaac leaned in to the touch, snuffled happily without feeling angry at the other wolf. The human washed the spatula and continued mixing the salad again. 

"You're not gonna give her my steak, aren't you?" 

Stiles considered whether Boyd and Derek would mind takeouts.

* * *

 

Isaac bounded to the door when there was a knock, yelling "I got it!". Stiles just got out of the bathroom, still in his towel. The cooking took longer than he thought it would, with Erica kept on coming back to him " _Do I look less slutty now? Okay how about now?_ " and Isaac kept on wanting to taste the food.

The clock showed 7.45.  _Shit_. His hair was still dripping with water and he didn't even know what to wear.

And there was Derek.

God,  _Derek_.

Stiles tried hard not to have a crush on the Alpha.  ** _Really_**  hard. But the way the wolf got protective of him somehow made he feel fuzzy inside. Stiles knew that he's obnoxious and loud, but the thoughts of being obnoxious and loud  ** _to_**  the alpha made him smile to himself.

"Stiles, come out! Derek and Boyd are here!" yelled Erica from the living room.

Stiles frantically toweled his hair and put on some deodorant. The mage dug for pants and shirt randomly in his closet. He just took the first decent pants that he found and looked for something to go with it. The oversized dark red Henley felt comfortable on his skin and the dark jeans just fit his lower torso snugly. The outfit brought out his pale skin and brown whiskey eyes. He looked in the mirror and sighed. "Great" said the mage to his scrawny reflection and messy hair. He could practically see 'Awkward virgin ass here' on his forehead. Sometimes, he hated his boyish look.

"Whatever", it's not like he's trying to impress anybody or anything. Or a particular Grumpy McSteamy.

He took a deep breath and went out of his room to the living room.

Derek and Boyd was sitting on the couch, watching something on the tv, while Isaac was leaning on the wall, eyeing the Alpha. 

"Finally! What took you so long, loser?" Erica cried from the kitchen. That brought the attention of the three wolves to him. Isaac was beaming at him and if he's in the wolf form, Stiles' sure his tail was wagging excitedly.

Derek stood up from his seat and faced Stiles. 

_Good heavens._

The man was wearing a grey shawl collar knitted pullover sweater that brought out each line of his muscles, making him looked bigger and bulkier. The slim fit hugged his body deliciously. Stiles could see the veins on his neck in the v-neck collar; could feel his mouth watered. The sleeves were pulled to his elbows, displaying the tanned arms in contrast with his silver wrist watch. His black jeans clung to his long legs. And his face...

 _His face_.

The stubbled chin looked darker. Stiles could feel his skin prickled with goosebumps. The lips looked soft and kissable. The sharp cheekbones framed his features perfectly. Raised eyebrows greeted him, looking amused. The hazel green orbs glowed dimly with the light. 

Erica elbowed him at his ribs, wrenching his gaze away from the man with the body of a Greek god.

"Stiles," Boyd started first. The dark man nodded at him.

"Boyd, my man!" trying to cover up with cheerful greeting. The mage avoided Derek's gaze, knowing that his face was flushed red.

"Stiles," Stiles melted a little bit inside with the deep voice.

"Hey Derek. Umm yeah, lets eat, before Isaac chew the couch or something," Stiles left the room hastily and went into the kitchen, without looking at the Alpha.

He tried to distract himself by getting busy with the plates and all. Having a frantic heart in a room with four werewolves who could listen anything from miles away were so not helping.

"Stiles?" Isaac hugged him from behind suddenly, sniffing his neck, puzzled why the mage was panicking.

His puppy was too good for him.

Stiles turned to Isaac and patted his hair lovingly, "I'm fine, pup".

Isaac stared at him harder, still trying to figure out his emotion.

"I'm just a bit tired, y'know. Today's session with Deaton kinda wore me out," lied the human.

The golden haired boy whined, hugging him again before releasing Stiles and helping to set up the table.

Derek, Boyd and Erica were already seated at the six-seater dining table, talking with each other when they got into the living room again. The wolf watched them placing the food, looking pointedly at Stiles. Boyd and Erica were sitting next to one another, while Derek sat opposite of Boyd. The mage took the seat at the head of the table with Erica on his left. Isaac took the empty seat on his right, putting him in between of the Alpha and his Guardian.

The female Beta started first, taking a glob of mashed potato and put it in Boyd's plate, along with the steak and salad. Isaac straightaway took the biggest steak and smacked it on his plate, grinning victoriously at Erica and Stiles, like he just won a trophy. 

"Stiles loves me more than he loves you," teased Isaac.

"He just feels sorry for you ass. Don't get excited," Erica snickered at him back

"Whatever. At least my sorry ass gets to eat his cooking everyday," Isaac replied.

Stiles just rolled his eyes at them. He should be more strict with his puppies. Later.

He made a mistake by glancing at Derek. 

The wolf was smiling at Erica and Isaac, amused with their banters. It melted his heart a bit. He took in how it brought gentleness on his face.  _He should smile more_.

"This is good, Stiles. I'm gonna have a hard time going back to takeouts again," praised Boyd.

Stiles blushed at the comment. It's not like everyday people other than Erica and Isaac complimented him. Never. He would gladly take anything when it happened.

"Yeah! He's like the best cook ever! He always makes my favourite!" mumbled Isaac with a mouth full of steak.

"Close your mouth, you disgusting pig. Besides, everything that Stiles makes **IS** your favourite. You even ate those foul vegetables," Erica threw crumbs of garlic bread at Isaac.

The curly haired puppy chewed the food with open mouth, making Erica threw more crumbs at him.

"Isaac, please eat properly. Erica, don't play with your food," Stiles tried to distract them from making him blush further.

Boyd just chuckled at his girlfriend and continued, "If this dinner already made it to my top 5, I don't what would happen if I eat here everyday".

"Well, Stiles can cook for you on weekends, right? When you fetch him for the training, you could have breakfast with us and dinner too, when you send him home!" Erica was begging Stiles with her eyes.

"Everyday," Derek suddenly interrupted her. Both of his housemates looked at him quizzically. 

"Boyd will take him to Deaton everyday," repeated the Alpha. 

Right. Quitting the job.

Stiles wanted to talk to his friends later that night about his new arrangements, after both guests have gone home. This was between him and his pups. And Derek kept on messing with his plan more and more. 

_Better rip this Bandaid off now than later._

He put his fork and knife slowly on the plate. Erica and Isaac were waiting for him, staring at him pleadingly as if they were scared of what would come out of his mouth.

"Right, about that," he set his eyes on his plate. He couldn't bear seeing the disappointment on their faces. He have already seen enough back in Beacon Hills.

"Deaton asked me to train with him everyday, to let my Spark flows regularly. It would drain up my energy each session if I were to practice it only twice a week. Apparently, the force is still unfamiliar with being called out. So, I need to play with him continuously," he kept on staring at his food.

Four pair of eyes were burning holes in his head. Stiles tried to push away the guilt but it kept on climbing up, making him sick. He wanted to stand up, go to the bathroom and lock himself in until the problem went away. He kept on recalling Jackson's mockeries and his father's sad eyes. It would break him but he would face it if he needed to. It's his own fault.  _Everything will be okay_. 

There was a deafening silence for a few minutes, until Derek cleared his throat, yanking the human's gaze to him.

" **I** need Stiles to train with Deaton. **My wolf** needs his Spark to be ready for our pack in times to come. I'm sorry if it messed up your plans but **my pack** needs him. _**I** **need him**   **to be with me**_. I promise to both of you that he will be taken care of. I will provide whatever that any of you need. You can ask Boyd or me anytime. We will try our best to fulfill your requests. So, you don't have to worry about anything," Derek looked certain with a tight face, sounded determined with his speech. Red Alpha eyes glowing, telling them that he meant each word.

Everybody was staring at him with wide eyes. Even Boyd. But slowly, there was an amused smile on the dark man's face. Erica and Isaac were looking back and forth between the Alpha and the Guardian. Stiles could only just hope that he's not slavering on the table.

Derek, the Derek who was an arrogant bastard, who kept on stepping on him like he's a cockroach, who asked Boyd to fix him like he's a mistake; just asked some kind of permission from his friends to let Stiles be with him. That he would take care of everything; of Erica and Isaac; of Stiles. 

It was getting **really** impossible to not have a crush on Derek Hale. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello guys!!!  
> Firstly, i wanna say sorry for the late update. i just started working again after a week of trip  
> (SO. MUCH. WORK. TO. BE. DONE. sobs)  
> So progress will be a little slower than before. I apologize in advance (T_T) *bows*  
> But i WILL update it regularly. (i'll try my best!) *dead*  
> (i actually typed some when nobody was looking & nearly got caught with my boss. jz told him it's smthg for my paperwork XD )
> 
> n btw, i just watched night at the museum 3 d other day.  
> PLEASE GO AND SEE IT! YOU'RE NOT GONNA REGRET!  
> i'm gonna miss dexter and rexy so much. 
> 
> well, enough about me!  
> lets get on with the show!
> 
> p/s: i cried throughout the entire movie bcz of robin williams :'(

* * *

The Alpha couple was now staring at each other. Derek kept his gaze fixed on Stiles, not wavering a bit. Stiles was still trying to believe his ears but any doubts vanished with the hazel eyes.

Stiles was mad at him. Heck, he wanted to melt that prick and blow his proud ass off to Mars. But now.. Now he didn't really feel like doing any of those things at all. 

Perhaps it was because of the Alpha pheromones. Yep. That must be it.

"So, you're gonna quit the job? What about us?" asked Isaac in a tiny voice.

He already knew it. They're disappointed in him.

Stiles swung his eyes to the young wolf and gave a small tight smile. He stared at his plate again, "I'm sorry". He continued with a sour mood, "I know it's not fair for me to just leave you guys but it's my fault to begin with".

Stiles raised his head and looked at his _Life_.

"You guys are the only thing that isn't fucked up in my life now and I'm planning to keep it that way. I wanna clear up my mess without dragging you both in it and to do so, I need this".

The atmosphere was stifling. Stiles could feel sweats trickled down his neck. It was like a death sentence for him to say it. But he needed to do it. _He'll be okay_.

What he didn't expect was a giggle from Erica.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I don't see any downside to it," she just flipped her hair.

Isaac stood up and hugged him from behind, nuzzling in his neck, "We're not mad. We're just worried about you".

"Yeah loser. I don't really care about the coffee shop. Besides, more Boyd for me and more food for Isaac. So, why not?" Erica grinned at the mage.

He heard a big exhale from the Alpha's direction and looked at him. The man gave an encouraging smile that made Stiles felt something in his stomach.

 _It's a start_.

* * *

They talked about baseball for the rest of the dinner, with Boyd, Isaac and Derek's constant chatter. Every now and then, Stiles would look at Erica to give a thankful smile for being understanding and Erica would just rolled her eyes playfully and threw crumbs at him.

It was Erica and Isaac's turn to wash the dishes and both devils had dragged Derek along to 'help' them. Or more like to bully him. They have warmed up to the older wolf instantly after Derek's earnest speech. And to be bullied by them, Derek must have done something right to get the privilege.

Stiles and Boyd were sitting on the couch in the living room, watching 'Bones'.

"He's not like that, y'know. He's actually a good person," Boyd's voice startled the Guardian in training from the tv.

"What?"

The black man continued while looking at the tv, "Derek. He's always alone. Well, I wouldn't say alone but he didn't have anybody to rely on with. His mom and Laura weren't around as much when he was growing up. They had pack meetings and other things to go to; to prepare his sister to take over their New York pack someday. His father has a big company to take care of and Cora is still in Berkeley. It's just me and Derek all along". 

The Beta wolf just smiled at him.

"Why are you telling me this?" Stiles couldn't help but asked.

"He told me about your session today and asked how to make you agree with him; with the arrangements. I thought you just need to look from his perspective a bit for that," Boyd shrugged off and gazed back to the tv.

"People were afraid of him and those who're not, would stay away from the great Talia Hale's son; the future Alpha of Beacon Hills," Boyd snorted at that. "Well, I don't blame them. His scowl even got you to hate him in the first 10 seconds. So he didn't know how to live with people, other than me and Deaton. But we're there because we wanted to be with him. And of course, his Uncle Peter were just making it worse. So, rude was his normal setting with strangers. In fact, that's him being nice," snickered the wolf.

"I thought he had growled at you and said "Me Alpha, you follow" to make you submit to him," Stiles tried to make the mood a little lighter.

"Well, something close to that," both of them chuckled.

Stiles somehow felt a sense of care towards Derek. Both of them were alone before. Stiles didn't get any manual on taking care of his dad after his mother passed away. And Derek had to learn how to be an Alpha of a territory from a very young age. They were from two different worlds but yet, he understood the wolf's previous life.

"I know that he's difficult to understand and I'm not asking you to because nobody will. Not unless you go through the same thing," Boyd directed his gaze to Stiles. "But at least, trust him on his words. You won't regret it. I know I'm not".

 

Stiles could hear the laughter in the kitchen. He turned to look at Erica and Isaac being their usual trouble selves through the pass-through; soaking the top next to the sink with their water fight. And somehow with all the miracles in the world, Derek was laughing along with them, looking dumb with his wet hair, courtesy of the other two wolves.

The crinkles around his eyes made him looked so young and happy. Wide smiles showing pearly white teeth.

Stiles felt warm over the sight. It's like they're a real family.

He cleared out his throat, trying to distract himself from the idea. He had to stop now before he got his foolish hopes high. _Again_.

"You still haven't told me your story; how you met Derek,"

The man smiled at that, "I was in Beacon Hills pack, previously ruled by Talia. Every once in a while, the Alpha would invite packmates or other packs to their house. Kinda like an Open Day, to welcome new packmates or just spend time together with the other packs. I met Derek there, while I was looking for a place to read my book, away from the crowds. And I found this library with Derek Hale in it. He was reading 'The Time Keeper' alone by himself. The other kids was running around, making ruckus here and there. But Derek... He just sat there, getting engrossed with the book. He saw me carrying the same thing and just ignored me, going back to his reading. So, I took that as an 'Okay' to join him".

Boyd suddenly gave a small chortle, "But what surprised me was, he straightaway asked what would I do if I have the power to control time. For a twelve-year-old kid, that was a pretty serious question,"

Stiles could imagine Derek with his scowl, trying to make a conversation with a stranger and he chuckled at that.

"I told him I wouldn't do anything because I would take others' time too and that's wrong. But Derek.. Derek looked angry. So I asked him what would he do. He said that he would use the power to go back and re-do his actions every time he made a mistake. That it would make him a better Alpha in the future. It sounded stupid. So, I told him it was, that there won't be a future if he kept on going back because his future is the past. But I think that was the wrong answer 'cause Derek just looked angrier and told me to get out,"

"That sounded like Derek there," snorted Stiles.

"Yeah," Boyd chuckled.

"Ever since then, every time I went to his house, he would have a new reason to pick a fight with me, not wanting to lose. I blame the ego and pride to his Alpha hormones. It took me awhile to get on his good side; not that I'm trying to. But I guess I was the only one who would go against his choice and tell him that he's stupid. Others would either ignore him or just follow his orders to get him to shut up. So, we kinda connect over the time and now here we are". 

Stiles looked at Derek who was laughing with Erica and Isaac in the kitchen again.

With how Boyd looked while telling about their past and Derek's childishness with Erica and Isaac, perhaps the big bad wolf was not that bad after all.

* * *

How did he get himself into this was still a mindfuck.

Oh right. Erica. That bitch.

Stiles was walking Derek and Boyd to their car now because Erica pushed him out when they were about to go back, saying something about bonding with her mate's Alpha for her and threatening to cut his balls off while he slept.

 _"Guardians bring people together, right? Now do your job and bring us together. And while you're at it, maybe you could bring yourself together with Grumpy McSteamy too,"_ _Erica waggled her stupidly trimmed eyebrows at him._

That stupid manipulating bitch.

So, here he was, standing awkwardly two feet apart in front of Derek because his damn mouth decided to be an idiot and called Derek when he was about to walk off to his car. And of course Boyd, being the mate of the psycho bitch, just ditched them together and went to 'answer a call' from some imaginary friend.

Stiles vowed to turn them into mushrooms during full moon later.

Now, his legs were being fucking stupid with their left-right stepping because they couldn't decide whether to run away or stay. Fuck his life!

"Thanks for dinner. It was good," Derek started to break the ice.

"Yeah. Well, thanks for helping me up with Erica and Isaac. At least it made me feel less guilty to tell them about it," Stiles was looking at his sneakers. He suddenly felt the need to wash them right at that moment.

Derek cough sounded forced. "Well, that was for before.. I'm sorry,"

Stiles stared at him, "Huh?".

"I didn't mean to make you angry. Like what you said at Deaton's house. I-I wanted to make it easier for you now that you're kinda working for me. I honestly didn't mean to humiliate you with the money offer or anything. So yeah, sorry...".

The Alpha didn't raise his head up once while he was saying all these things. He was staring at the floor, kicking the pavement with his shoe, trying to avoid Stiles' gaze.

He looked like a child.

"And you're not a scum, you're more than that. If anybody who was a scum, it would be me 'cause I'm the dick who needed you..," he ended with a small mumble.

Derek raised his head and looked at anywhere but Stiles, "It was hard for me to trust somebody, to put my pack's trust on some strangers who I haven't even met before. I mean, if anything goes wrong, they'll be in danger. I have people on my back".

"And having Talia as your mom just made it even harder, huh?" Stiles chided.

The Alpha just smiled.

Stiles couldn't help snorted at Derek because he reminded the mage of himself when he was little, trying to be a good boy because everybody loved his mother.

Stiles let out a heavy breath before continuing, "I didn't trust you either because you only thought of yourself and your problems. Well, I have you riding on my back constantly, so it doesn't excuse you for being a dick to me".

Derek looked embarrassed at that, "Yeah I know. Sorry.."

Stiles smiled and looked into Derek's eyes now that the older man was finally looking at him.

"But I get it. You have other people counting on you, your family counting on you. That's why you didn't let me in at first. And because my dad is one of the people who are counting on you, I forgive you for being a pompous prick. You should be thankful that I didn't make you disappear or something," smirked Stiles.

"Ooh I'm very thankful and scared," Derek rolled his eyes.

Their laughter sounded right. _Like a true happy mate_.

"Okay lets make a deal. If you can respect me and take me as a legit human that has emotions and his own opinions, then I'm gonna give my all to be the best Guardian for you. I will try to work this out and make it easier for you, okay?"

Derek gave a big grin at him and sealed it with a "Deal".

It was impossible now to not have a crush on Derek.

In the heat of the moment, with the adrenaline and their newfound agreement, Stiles' mouth decided to be an ass.

"Why don't you join us for breakfast and dinner everyday with us too?" 

Fuck.

Stupid fucking mouth! What's the matter with him today? Why of all the days, his body parts chose to be an ass today, sprouting and being shit? While he was trying to stop himself from having any hopes on Derek Hale.

Seriously, fuck his life!

He tried to make a cover story to save himself while he still could, "I mean, Boyd will be joining us everyday and Erica won't let him go that easily. So, better be nice to each other. Why not?". He tried to shrugged off.

He couldn't look at Derek. The virgin mage couldn't imagine how red his face looked like right now. He was wringing his hands, staring at them like they could magically Accio a shovel for him to dig and bury himself into the ground.

Maybe if he try harder, it would appear.

It felt like hours before Derek said something. "Ummm.. Sorry.."

The wolf sounded surprised like he didn't expect that.

Yeap. Thanks mouth.

He already knew that. Just because Derek has decided not to be a dick to him, it didn't mean that he would agree to everything now. Of course not. And the fact that maybe Derek was not attracted to him made his stomach dropped.

He was just reading too much into it. He thought he would learn from Danny but nope. Just another mistake. With him as the mistake. Jackson made it pretty clear for him.

 _"It amazes me how much you think you actually worth._ _Werewolves don't mate with parasites. Parasites are supposed to be killed, to die"_

Whatever. He already knew that.

Stiles faked a laugh, trying to hold on the bile that was climbing up his throat, "Ahahahaha I thought with Boyd being with you 24/7, maybe you wanted to come too. At least you could relax a bit after a day of brooding and growling at people. I mean you could do that with us and nobody's gonna judge you".

His face is beet red now and he felt the wind prickling his skin like thousands of needles. Maybe the air was getting colder. He's not wearing jacket at the moment. Yep, maybe that's why.

He hugged himself, trying to keep warm. Trying to not feel disappointed over stupid thing. Trying to not feel hurt.

"Umm.. I'm sorry. I don't think I could make it with my work and all. I mean, I have to get to my company early. So... Um.."

Derek's words sounded harsh. It made the bile in his throat felt like stone now.

Yeah. He knew what Derek meant.

Nobody would want an ADHD mage who couldn't control himself. Nothing new there. Derek probably had to tolerate him all these times. Maybe he didn't have a choice but to appeal to Stiles. It's all business.

Of course.

Derek looked guilty. He didn't have to.

The mage didn't need anybody's pity.

"Don't worry. Just forget about it. It's stupid. You don't have to come. I was just wondering if you wanted to but you don't have to. I mean, you're busy. And rich. Of course you have someone waiting for you at home. I mean.. Umm.. Whatever. Sorry. Forget about it".

_Just forget about me._

Stiles didn't want to think about Derek with anybody else and attempted to brush the hurt off. "I better go in now. It's getting cold".

He was starting to head back into his apartment when Derek's voice came.

"So no dinner for me?"

Stiles stopped in his track. When no answer came, he turned slowly towards Derek.

"I can't join you for breakfast 'cause Boyd is an ass. He always send me even before the guards came, saying that the guards are as much employees as others too," the wolf finished it with a growl before continuing. 

"But I will go back with him when he get you. So, why not?"

Stiles was still staring at Derek. He was doing it awful lot lately. And it's hard for him to be speechless. Not even Scott could get him to shut up.

"But unless you don't want me to come and prefer Boyd only, I perfectly underst..."

"NO!" 

Stiles didn't mean to stunt the wolf who had super hearing ability. His throat wanted to throw the bile so bad that he forced Stiles to shout. Just that.

 _Shit. Way to go Stiles. Why don't you just become a monk now that you just screwed up your last chance of having a one-sided relationship by screaming the wolf's ears off_.

_Come on! Take control of the situation, man!_

"I mean.. umm.. dinner with you would be awesome".

What nearly made him fall on his face and his heart out of his mouth was something he never imagined would happen.

Derek stepped a little closer to Stiles with his seductive smile and whispered, "Dinner would be great".

Stiles maybe just found his first love.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the VEEEEEEEERYYYYYY late post!  
> My boss sent me on a work trip with tonnes of reports to do T__T  
> (Sometimes I think he did it just to mess with me grrrrrr)  
> The only thing that kept me sane was reading some fanfics that I could access there, which was not much, thanks to the crappy internet connection sobs.
> 
> Anyway~ I forgot to mention some of the ages in this fic. They are as follows:  
> Stiles/ Erica/ Isaac/ Scott/ Allison/ Lydia/ Jackson – 23  
> Derek/Boyd – 28  
> Jennifer – 26  
> Tristan (OMC) – 28  
> Cora/ Gaby (OFC) – 22  
> Laura Hale – 30
> 
> If my random self decided to be a bitch and add more characters, I'll update later. 
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me *bows*
> 
> p/s: Kudos & comments kept me going ^^

* * *

Two months had passed and the practice with Deaton went smoothly. Stiles could manage his Spark better after every session. Even though he was still working on it, the time to call forth the force was getting shorter, making it easier to bring out the Spark, as long as he concentrated on it. 

Deaton trained him to connect with the environment first; the trees, the land, the air around him, the animals. That way, he could learn his surrounding and be one with them. Even though they were training in New York, Deaton said nature was still a one body. If the nature could accept the Spark and Stiles there, the Beacon Hills land could also too.

It was easy for him to master that because the Spark loved to roam free and interact with everything. Stiles would let the power out when he’s sleeping, a way to train his subconscious mind to control the Spark. He could understand Chase better with the help of the ability. The dog only needed to look at him with its big puppy eyes and Stiles would know if Chase needed food or water or some playtime with him or toilet or just being a spoilt mutt. He would talk to the dog all the time and it'd bark, huff or whine as a reply. Erica and Isaac would just look at him like he was a crazy person when he started to talk to his dog. Over the time, Chase became really protective and possessive of Stiles that he had to bring the dog along to Deaton's house. He would let out his Spark and let it play with Chase. 

 _"Animals' instincts are pretty impressive because they're able to detect any anomalies. And in you case, it also serves as a training. S_ _o, feel free to play with your dog using your Spark,"_

He once accidentally sprouted weeds in Deaton’s backyard because his Spark got a bit excited. The old mage made a small greenhouse for Stiles to bond with the nature and if his power got curious again. 

Next, he learnt to connect with beings.

_“In this world, we have different types of creatures like spirits, vampires, ghosts, fairies, witches, ghouls and others. In order to be a Guardian, you must understand each being and create ties with them. This is to ensure stability and harmony. They don’t understand each other. So, it’s up to the Guardian to connect them. And in order to do so, you must understand them. If the other creatures couldn’t accept you as a Guardian, the Spark wouldn’t accept them as something to protect. The land will turn against them, the power will eat them slowly inside. That’s why it’s so important to bond with everything. And as much as others need a Guardian, you need them too. Your Spark needs lives to be able to stay strong. If nobody accepted you as their Guardian, your Spark won’t have anything to channel its power. Yes, you have Derek to help you but if there’s nothing to protect, what’s the use of an enhanced power?”._

Stiles had problems at the beginning. He tried to connect with Deaton but his Spark kept on pulling him in. He could feel the nature but not Deaton. The old Guardian even had to attack Stiles to make the power to notice him, which nearly ended the older man's life. It worked after several life-threatening attempts; the force took notice of him but as only a threat. Stiles took almost a week to will his Spark not to attack Deaton every time he saw the mage but they managed to control it. Their Sparks would clash once in a while but only because Stiles' Spark was still unfamiliar with interacting with another being. Derek even growled at the old Guardian with raised hackles and bloody red eyes. And sometimes, he would put himself between Deaton and Stiles, trying to shield the young mage from the 'threat. It surprised both the Alpha pair.

_"Your wolf is just reacting to the Spark's hostility towards me because I 'threatened' Stiles. But no worries. The Spark will settle down soon and so will your wolf, Derek,"_

Then, he began to notice Boyd’s presence too. But Deaton said he had to practice at home too because both dark skinned men were calm and able to control their emotions. Their composed state didn't really affect the Spark much. So, he started to read his friends. And after a while, he could feel their emotions and learn their physical conditions. He would feel Derek’s frustration towards him when he talked too much or Boyd’s affection towards Erica or Isaac’s constant state of hungriness. Or his neighbour's lust when the creeper looked at Erica. Or one of the customer's annoyance when he would stop by the cafe. Everyone except the old mage. He once asked Deaton why he couldn’t read him.

_“You could read others because they let you or they don’t know about it. But Guardians, like me, have our own Sparks that guard us from any ‘intruders’, which in this case, your Spark. So, you can only read me when I let you to"._

The final stage was with Derek. With Stiles getting better, so was Derek. The Alpha was stronger and faster. Deaton would fight him using his magic to test out his strength and Derek would use his newly improved agility to deflect and dodge the attacks. They even tested out Derek's ability in his full Alpha form. He looked much bigger and bulkier. It even seemed like he was glowing with pure power. And every time Stiles channeled his Spark in assisting Derek, he could feel the Spark grew stronger tenfold. It's like they were enhancing each other's ability together. Deaton was extremely impressed with the improvement that he suggested something impossible.

_"Now that you can finally help Derek, I want you to defend yourself against him. He will attack you and you need to fight back,"_

_"WHAT?!"_

_Derek didn't say anything. He just stared at Deaton and his wide opened mouth._

_"ARE YOU INSANE?! I can't attack him. I can't even flick his forehead without getting every bone in my body fractured. Nope. No way, man! I love my scrawny body. And even if I could attack him from a far, I would probably be dead anyway. I nearly shit my pants every time he roars. So, no thanks. But you are most welcome to try it, though," Stiles began to walk into the house._

_"If you could defend yourself against him, then you can do it against anybody else without batting an eye, Stiles. That practically makes you invincible"_

_That made him stop in his tracks. The young mage turned slowly to Deaton._

_"You are very powerful and you give power to Derek. So, if you could defend and attack the only thing that's stronger than you, then other things are merely child's play,"_

_Stiles looked at him dubiously._

_Then Derek said, "He's right. If you could go against me, your Alpha leader, then you can go against anybody,"_

_Stiles looked back and forth between those two before sighing slowly, walking towards them._

_"Fine. But if I'm crippled, I'm turning you into dust, Hale,"_

_The young Guardian stood in the middle of the field with an unsure look on his face, "So, uh.. come at me, bro,"_

_Derek smirked and changed into his Alpha form._

_And Stiles didn't nearly piss himself at the sight._

_The Alpha roared and got on an attack stance. Any move from either of them would end up badly for Stiles._

_Or so what he thought._

_Stiles waited for several minutes before Derek charged towards him full speed. The mage created a shield around him before the wolf rammed into him. The force sent Derek skid a few metres back, with a loud snarl. The wolf's eyes were burning and Stiles shivered when he stared into the red orbs. He braced himself for another impact when the wolf howled. Stiles could feel something happening to his Spark._

_'What's happening?'_

_"Stiles, Derek is using his dominance over your Spark. Don't lose yourself. Try to hold on. Will your Spark to stay strong and fight for you!"_

_Deaton's voice sounded far away, with him losing control little by little._

_The wolf shot a deathly gaze at him and rushed towards him again, fangs out._

_Stiles let go of his shield and rolled to his left side. The Alpha skid and crouched menacingly, staring at his way, before charging at him once more.  
_

_Stiles tried to create his shield again but his Spark seemed weak._

_"Stiles, you need to try harder! You are your Spark. Force it to help you!"_

_The Alpha ran straight into closed-eyed Stiles, making him tumbled backwards. His head hit the ground hard and if it wasn't for the Spark, he might have been dead already. He could feel bruises forming all over his body and his stomach felt like it nearly exploded with the impact with the wolf's head. He groaned and opened his teary eyes, seeing black spots in his vision._

_"FUCK! THAT HURTS, DAMNIT"_

_Derek began to circle Stiles who was still lying on the ground, waiting for any movements._

_Stiles tried to get up slowly but fell to his knees due to his injuries._

_"That's gonna bruise," thought Stiles while holding his stomach._

_"Stiles, you need to fend Derek off. Try to control your Spark!"_

_"I KNOW, OKAY! NOW SHUT UP! I'M TRYING HERE! If the fuck would just stop attacking me for 10 seconds!" Stiles tried to call upon his Spark but the power seemed to follow Derek's order and remained unresponsive to him._

_Derek suddenly howled so loud that Stiles had to cover his ears. He suddenly felt powerless and panic began to cruise in his veins. He couldn't get control of his Spark anymore because he couldn't feel it at all._

_Derek surged from his prowling to Stiles and the mage could see the murderous look in the red eyes._

_His body froze. His mind went blank. It's like he was dead already._

_"STILES!"_

_Then suddenly he felt power surging through his body, rolling aggressively, trying to get out. When Derek slammed into him, the Spark created a shield around him, pushing Derek further away than before, sending him tumbling back like a broken doll. Stiles then stood up slowly and faced Derek. He raised his right hand slowly, palm towards Derek. The Alpha couldn't even shake his dizzy head properly when he was lifted from the ground. His red eyes were wide with fear of the unknown._

_Stiles was shocked with it. He couldn't feel anything before, and now he's dangling Derek few feet off the ground._

_Derek roared at him, trying to be free of the unknown force. The mage felt his power faltered for a few seconds but he willed it to be strong._

_Then, he heard a small chuckle and clapping coming from behind him._

_"Good! Very good," Deaton eyed the floating Alpha amusingly._

_"You managed to overpower Derek's dominance and control over you and gave him a taste of his own medicine," the old mage continued while Stiles released Derek from the forceful grip._ _Derek fell on the ground hard, turning back to human while crouching._

_Stiles looked at his hands, still shocked with what just happened._

_"What the hell was that? It felt like another Alpha was smashing into me!" Derek snarled at Deaton and shot Stiles a murderous look._

_"You're actually being hit with the same force that you used to hit Stiles. His Spark gave you power but at the same time, he also powered himself up with the same amount of energy. To put it simple, it's like you're hitting yourself,"_

_Stiles laughed at that. He could imagine Derek hitting himself in the face with his fist. Like a monkey. Which earned him a hard nip at his right shoulder when Derek nuzzled him that night before the Alpha went back home._

After that, the 23-year-old mage worked with Derek to improve his control. It was nothing serious because his Spark knew that Derek was its Alpha. It was more like the power would prefer to stop Derek by knocking him off and hold him from afar, rather than attacking the Alpha. Deaton always encouraged Stiles to try and use his Spark to really hurt Derek but he couldn't bear to do it. It's like it would hurt him too. Derek kept on reassuring that he'd be fine but Stiles still preferred to play it safe.

Besides that, his bank account kept on filling in every week too. The first time $5,000 magically appeared in his bank account was during the first week of his training. He asked Boyd about it and the wolf just shrugged with, _"Deal with Derek"_.

But the Alpha just smirked at him with his smug face and just played with his mobile phone, "I _found out where you live, about your past and even about your mother. So, bank account number was just a walk in the park for me,"_

Stiles was confused and angry at first but chose to ignore it. It's not like he had any voice in the matter.

And speaking of Derek Hale; the thoughts of the man who Stiles had fallen gravely in love with, over and over again, made Stiles' stomach clenched.

He really tried to forget about his feelings towards Derek. After the realization that he might be in love with the older wolf, Stiles went into denial mode. He tried to swallow the emotion and move on with his life. He even forced himself to remember what happened with Danny and Jackson.

But with each time, he would also remember the dinner sessions with Derek. The laughter that they shared together like a family as the wolf fit perfectly right in their mismatched lives. The inside jokes every time they worked together at Deaton's. The brooding sessions with Derek every time the Alpha was angry about something at work and Stiles would bake cookies for him to make him talk. Every _"Mine"_ uttered by wolfed out Derek, hit Stiles deep in his heart.  

And each day, he felt more and more in love with Derek. Even Chase and his Spark liked the wolf. They would play together constantly when they trained together. Sometimes Derek would huff and pace impatiently in his wolf form if Deaton said they didn't need the wolf for the session, in which Derek would tucked his face into Stiles' neck and snuggling on the couch later that night.

Derek once growled at Chase with red eyes because the dog forced itself in between their bodies. The young Guardian couldn't help but ask Derek about it.

_"It's my wolf. He wanted to be with your Spark so much that he would howl and whimper all the time while watching you train. And what's worse, the only thing to keep him down is your scent and body warmth. It's so stupid and ridiculous! Sometimes I wonder whether I'm human, part wolf or a wolf with human part," growled Derek._

Stiles couldn't help but feel a slight hurt at that. It's not Derek's fault but they way the Alpha said it, it was like it was not his choice to be close with Stiles. The Guardian once accidentally heard Deaton told Derek that the wolf side of him already considered Stiles as a mate. But Derek didn't seem too fond of the idea. 

_"It's not like we have to be together, right? I mean, sure, I'm the descendant of the Alpha who mated to Stiles' ancestor or something but we don't have to follow that path if we don't want it"_

_"You don't like him?"_

_"No. I mean, yes. I mean... I don't know. He's a great guy, yeah. But... But it's not like that. It's just that... I don't want to mate just because we have to or because my wolf wanted it... I want to mate because **I** want to. The human me. And Stiles is amazing but he's not for me. Well, at least I don't think so"._

_"Derek, your wolf and human sides are both the same. Not two separate beings," Deaton sounded tired._

_"Yeah. But the human me will live with my mate most of the time. So, I win"_

_"On the contrary, Alpha Hale, you are losing greatly."_

It's not rocket science that Derek didn't consider him as a mate. Stiles kept telling himself that he's going to end up hurting himself, just like with Danny. But the way Derek obliviously treated him like he was the most precious gem in the world kept him from moving on.

 _"It's not like really Derek meant it. It's all his wolf,"_ Stiles would repeat that over and over again just to make sure he's in check with his feelings.

And his dreams were not helpful at all. They're getting out of control. He dreamt of lying on his back, looking straight into red eyes while Derek moved in and out of him. Or him on his knees, holding the headboard while Derek pounded him from behind. More often, he even visioned being held up on the wall by a pair of strong hands, his knees wounded around Derek's waist, hands around his neck; while the wolf bit his neck passionately. Or hands pinned to the bed with one hand while Derek ravished his body. And he would woke up to drenched clothes due to sweats and come. It was so embarrassing.

Sometimes Stiles wished for someone to look at him like the way Boyd would look at Erica. He couldn't put it in any words but he longed for that indescribable feeling. For someone to hold him, to kiss him, to be with him.

To accept him and make him feel like home. 

* * *

 "My mom wants to meet you, Stiles"

Everybody stopped eating and stared at Derek.

It was so silent that you could practically hear the wind howling outside.

They were currently in the middle of dinner. Stiles made simple beef lasagna with fresh salad, which was still full because wolves were such anti vegetables.

Derek looked down to his plate, "Umm.. Sometimes she invites other packs to spend time together and strengthen the bonds. She asked me to bring you to the dinner,"

Now the young mage became the centre of attention. 

"Huh?"

Derek coughed awkwardly before continued, "Well, I have to be there with my family and you ARE my Guardian. And mom said it'd kinda be like an exposure to the pack world. I mean, there'll be plenty of events that you'd need to attend in the future as the Guardian of my pack. So, this is like a rehearsal for you; to get you to be familiar with people".

Isaac snorted at that, making Stiles shot a dark look at him.

"You see, Derek, you need to understand something about our little Stiles here. He's not good with crowds. Heck, he has the same friends since high school. Other people would either wanted to kill him or have nothing to do with him. Me and Isaac kinda forced the loser to accept us. So, events with a bunch of wolves, not really a good idea," Erica shook her head. 

Derek looked at Erica incredulously. 

"Yeah. Shocker. I know. And here we thought you'd be the anti-social one," the blonde woman snickered at Stiles.

Derek opened and closed his mouth, like he didn't know what to say to that, "But you guys work at a coffee shop. You deal with people all the time,"

" **WE** deal with people," Isaac pointed at himself and Erica. "He ignores them by shutting his mouth," the blue-eyed man rolled his eyes at the mage.

"Trust me. Getting fancy with a bunch of werewolves, not really his cup of tea," Erica looked at Derek boringly.

Several minutes passed before there was a forced cough.

"Well, why don't you let _Stiles_ decides that for himself, heh?" pressed the 23-year-old mage with a fake sweet smile.

Erica and Isaac held their hands up, showing that they're off his case.

The mage looked at Derek.

"As you know, my past is not really flowers and rainbows," Stiles bit his bottom lip and paused before continued, "But I think your mom's right. I need to start _getting fancy_ with werewolves now, to prepare me for the future. Just... Don't force me, okay? I may need a time-out. Or several,"

Derek gave a wide smile, looking relaxed at his decision, "Yeah, sure, anything,"

The Guardian's heart skipped a bit and if the wolves heard that, he's just going to deny it later.

"Thank you," Derek mumbled a bit but Stiles could hear the sincerity. 

He just smiled down to his plate.

* * *

It was Saturday, the day of the party and Stiles' getting ready for the dinner. He looked at the assembles on his bed with a sigh. Erica had took him to the shopping mall that morning and bought a mountain of clothes.

_"You are representing Derek and his family. So you better start to dress your ass up other than in those hideous things you called clothes. One of these days, I'm gonna burn them,"_

_Stiles gasped at that, "Uh hello, rude,"_

_"You can wear those plaid shirts when you're like 120 years old or something. Until then, I own that bubbly ass of yours and I will do justice to it,"_

Stiles rolled his eyes at the memory. His shirts were not for public display. They're for his comfort. He didn't care how he looked like. It's not like he's trying to get others' attentions. He's done with that.

Stiles slid into the pants and put on the shirt. He walked to the mirror to look at himself.

The red pants made his ass stood out and his legs looked longer. The grey button-down shirt fitted nicely onto his body with the top button unbuttoned. He then put on red vest, that matched his pants, on top of his shirt. The colour brought out his black belt strikingly. The attire made his slim figure looked leaner and his pale skin glowed more. He was styling his hair a bit with gel when Erica came into his room.

"Good God!"

Stiles turned around to Erica's gasp and saw the woman was staring at him with a wide mouth and surprise look.

"What?"

Erica blinked several times and just shook her head with a whistle. 

"If it weren't for Boyd, I'd do you. Right here, right now," the wolf's wicked smile made her look like a predator.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "If it weren't for Boyd, I'd turn you into a slug if you were to do that," 

Erica chuckled and walked to him. She took his right hand to button the cuff.

"You love me too much to do that. Besides, your long lasted quest of guarding that precious virginity might end tonight, with a certain hot, muscular, brooding Alpha, eh?" Erica wiggled her eyebrows while buttoning the left cuff.

"Erica..." Stiles warned her.

"Mmhhm. No, you don't get to do that. Not tonight. Just enjoy the moment, Stiles," Erica tried again.

"Stop that. Just... Just, please. ," Stiles mumbled to Erica with a tired voice.

"What?! Come on, Stiles! You're hot and you know it. And Derek is stupid if he doesn't have any feelings for you,"

"He doesn't and this clothes won't change that. You know that it will never happen. Ever. He's an Alpha leader, who I'm sure has a town full of his admirers. I'm only his Guardian, that's all. We will never be like that,"

"Stiles, listen to yourself! He's **YOUR** Alpha and you're **HIS** Guardian. That technically made you each other's,"

"Erica, please..."

"I know that you heard what Derek said to Deaton but maybe he didn't realize it yet. You guys are perfect for each other!"

"Of course. How could I miss the way he roared at me with love? Or when he smashed me at the walls when he's tired with all the love for me," Stile replied sarcastically. "He doesn't feel like that about me. All the touchy feely; that's all his wolf. I could love him with all my heart but the human him won't feel the same way about me,"

"You don't know that. I'm a wolf and I know how we sometimes would lose control. But most of the time, the wolf me does what the human me wants deep inside. The wolf relies on instincts. So, maybe Derek wanted to be touchy feely with you but didn't realize it. Why don't you tell him about your feelings? Maybe that would help,"

Stiles jerked back his hand and frowned at Erica.

"Tell him about my feelings and then what, huh? Face another rejection again and make him hate me like what others did to me before?"

Erica frowned at him.

"Stiles, if you're still scared of the past, you aren't really living,"

The mage laughed sarcastically at that.

"Did Boyd tell you to say that? "Poor Stiles, scared and alone with nobody to love him. Maybe we should rub it in his face with his desperate love with Derek, so that he'd make a fool out of himself". I don't need your pity," Stiles turned to the mirror and began to fidget with his hair. He needed a distraction to control himself.

"No. We want you to be happy. And you're happy when you're with Derek. Both of you are! You're blinded by your fear to notice the possibilities that maybe Derek is in love with you too," Erica tried to explain.

"Well, maybe I'm not scared. Maybe I'm just done with any relationship. Have you ever thought about that?"

Erica stared at him in the mirror. Stiles kept on fixing his hair, trying to avoid her eyes.

The wolf sighed slowly before hugging him from behind.

"I know you're scared because it's your first love. I was too when I first met Boyd. But you know what pushed me?" Erica's mumble was muffled on his back.

She turned the man towards her and held his face lovingly.

"Hope. Hope got us together. With hope, we would keep on going, even though life makes you want to kill yourself. You hope for something in the future and that what makes you to stay strong," 

Erica stroke his cheeks and gaze fondly into his eyes.

"You give Derek hopes to be a better person and Derek gives you hopes to accept yourself. Don't you see it? Both of you were in love with each other ever since from the start. It's just that Derek doesn't have anyone to tell him that,"

Stiles closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He let out a heavy breath, feeling his body grew weary.

"I'm just tired, Erica. Tired of hoping for something impossible. Tired of believing in something that would never happen,"

She pulled his face towards her and rested their foreheads together.

"Sometimes, the pain is what makes you hope again,"

They pulled back and opened their eyes.

"Your past made you feel guarded against the world. And Derek just came in one day and tore it down just like that. No matter how hard you try to deny it, you will always love him. Now, you tell me, how is that possible if you're done with love?"

The blonde released his face and took his hands.

"He didn't do anything except being himself and that what got you to start hoping again. You hope that you won't get hurt. But the truth is, you're the one who's hurting yourself by denying your feelings,"

Erica smiled at him gently, "I know you. It's not Danny or the others. It's Derek. Until you stop pushing those feelings away, you will never be able to move on,"

Stiles knew that he loved the other man but he only had a little of himself to hold on to.

"I'm not asking you to force yourself to do something that you don't want to. But... Just take the chance. He's different. And you're different now. Derek didn't approach you to get into your pants or to make fun of you like those guys in the past. He only wants you to be yourself. His instincts want you because you're yourself,"

Maybe Erica was right. Maybe he might have a chance at happily ever after this time.

Stiles gathered Erica in his arms and tucked his face into her neck.

"I'm scared,"

Erica rubbed his back, "Don't be. You're not alone. Never alone. If you fall, me and Isaac will be there to catch you,"

Stiles breathed in the wolf's scent, trying to calm down. He knew that the only way to move on was to face his fear; the fear of letting people in his heart. Of letting Derek into his heart. Stiles needed to hold on to this chance. To act on it. Because it's Derek. Because it's them.

They spent several minutes that way before his door was opened.

"Stiles, Derek's here..." Isaac stopped midway and stared at them.

"What's up?"

Both Stiles and Erica just smiled knowingly at each other.

"Seriously, what's going on? Did something happen?" the tall wolf went to Stiles and sniffed his temple, trying to smell his emotions, making the mage laughed.

"I'm fine. It's nothing. Erica was just wishing me luck and told me not to face-plant in front of Derek's mom,"

Isaac whined and nuzzled Stiles.

"Come on, you big lug. You can do that later. Derek's waiting for him now," Erica pulled Isaac out of the room by the back of his collar.

Stiles looked into the mirror again and breathed to himself looking at his reflection.

Maybe there was a chance for him and Derek.

He'd try to get Derek's attention.


	12. Chapter 12

"You gotta be kidding me,"

Stiles was standing in front of the huge Hale mansion. The vast expand of forest and field surrounding the building was still mind-boggling to Stiles. There were people everywhere, chatting merrily, ignoring his presence.

When he and Derek arrived a little later after 7.00 p.m., he was worried they'd be late and it'd be rude for Derek to turn up late for his mother's party. But as they reached the manor in Derek's sleek black Camaro, he noticed that people were still arriving.

_"Some packs are from another part of the country. So it's fine for us to be here a bit late. Mom won't start until everybody is here," Derek just shrugged off when he noticed the worried look at Stiles' face._

They went through the side of the house and to the backyard. There’s a big pool, with a small garden next to it and an outdoor bar; all filled with people. The dimmed lighting made everything looked magical and soothing.

The Alpha, who’s wearing black leather jacket with charcoal shirt underneath it and dark jeans, was looking around, eyes searching for somebody.

After Stiles' revelation of his feelings towards the older man, he found everything about the guy was irresistible. Even the way his eyebrows disappeared in his hair when he saw Stiles' outfit the first time.

_"You are wearing THAT?"_

_"What? It's a dinner party, right?" Stiles felt a bit offended._

_Derek snorted at him with an amused smirked and shook his head, leaving the mage behind to get into his car._

And now Stiles regretted his choice of clothing. He's gonna kill Erica later. Slowly. With wolfsbane and mountain ash. Mixed in her shampoo bottle.

The other guests looked relaxed in their shirts and jackets, unlike the mage in his over-dressed 'tucked-in suit'.

_'Relax. Everything's gonna be fine. Cool. You can do it, man!_ ' Stiles tried to calm his nervousness.

"Derek! There you are!" There was a voice calling from the sea of people from the direction of the barbeque grill.

The voice belonged to a black-haired woman. She was wearing a long black dress that flowed around her as she walked gracefully when people parted around her. With a wide smile and hazel eyes, Stiles knew where Derek got his mesmerizing eyes from. Next to her, was a tall man with huge built. He wore dark navy sweater with beige pants that made him looked bigger, and looked exactly like Derek, with the stubbled face. Or Derek looked like him. Except that the man's short hair was dark brown. His deep piercing eyes somehow made Stiles wanted to bare his neck and submit.

Talia hugged Derek and kissed his cheek while the man just one-hand hugged him.

"Finally! I thought we needed to send our pack to sniff you out. You're getting slow, son!" The man laughed at Derek while ruffling his hair.

"Well, it takes one to know one, dad" Derek mockingly punched the other man's stomach while growling. Now both men were flashing red eyes at each other playfully.

"2 minutes, Daniel! I just asked for 2 minutes to be with my son without both of you being immature," the woman just smiled fondly at both men. They then went on to talk a bit with Derek, asking him how he was and such.

Stiles felt out of place, fidgeting awkwardly in the middle of the family reunion. He was about to turn and went to the bar when Derek's mother addressed him.

"My, my, how rude we are! I'm sorry, dear. Derek, where are your manners? I taught you better, young man!"

Derek just rolled his eyes and tugged Stiles right elbow to him. "Mom, dad, this is Stiles,"

The woman smiled fondly at him and Stiles was surprised when she hugged him tightly before he could even offer his hand to shake with. When the woman released him, he saw her eyes flashed red.

"Welcome, Stiles. I'm Talia Hale. Derek told me everything about you," the red eyes were still glimmering at him. Stiles was speechless, confused with the occurring.

Talia seemed to notice his shock and laughed, "Oh! My apology! My wolf is unfamiliar with you and your Spark. I only smelt you on Derek before. So, to feel the force in your presence was still unbelievable."

Stiles just blushed at that and looked at the pavement, "Urm... Sorry. I didn't mean to,"

The female Alpha held his chin and pulled his face up to her, "Now, now, don't be shy. We'll be seeing each other a lot in the future. So you better get used to us,". With a soft gentle smile, Talia caressed his face. "You look so much like Claudia," the woman's small voice made his heart clenched.

There was a sound of someone clearing throat that made both of them turned.

"Oh sorry! Stiles, meet my mate, Daniel Hale," The man offered his hand and Stiles took it with a small smile.

“Hello, sir”

"Nice to meet you, young man. Derek's right, you do feel powerful," the man's eyes were now flashing red at him. Daniel patted his back before continued, "Thank you for doing this for Derek. It meant a lot to us,"

"It's nothing. I'm just doing my job like my mom. No biggie,"

Talia held both his arms and looked straight into his eyes, "Oh, it's definitely a biggie, my dear. You just don't know it yet," With a wink, Talia let his arms go. "I'm glad both of you are here now. And I'm sorry but we need to greet other guests that just arrived. Derek, get him some food. Stiles, please enjoy the party. You can ask Derek for anything, okay?"

"Plenty of time to chat later, son. Enjoy!" the couple went away to see other guests.

Stiles let go the breath he didn't realize he was holding and closed his eyes. The snort next to him made the mage opened his eyes. Derek was smirking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"What?! Oh go ahead and laugh. We'll see who's laughing when you have to face my dad in Beacon Hills later, hmph!" Stiles was about to turn and made his way to the bar when another voice cried out 10 feet in front of him.

"OH MY GOD! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!! OH MY GOD!” and another one, “SERIOUSLY? STILES, IS THAT YOU?!”

Stiles could recognize those voices anywhere. He saw the two women were making their way to both of them. Apparently 5 years didn't do anything to them, thanks to werewolf genes. Cora looked beautiful with her now long dark brown hair and Laura looked fierce as ever.

“OH MY GOD! STILESSS!!!”

The mage was engulfed in a werewolf sandwich between Derek’s sisters, while the man just looked at them from the side.

“Hey guys. Miss me?”

That earned Stiles a smack from Laura across his head after they let him go.

“DON’T. RUN. AWAY. AGAIN!” Laura’s loud voice and red eyes made Stiles cringed inwardly.

“Yeah! You got us worried, snowball! 5 years of nothing and suddenly you’re the new Guardian? Way to make a comeback, Stiles” Cora poked his side.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Things were hard back then. I had to go away,” Stiles rubbed his head sheepishly.

Laura put her right hand on his cheek to turn his face to her, “It’s okay, Stiles. It’s all in the past. Now, you’re here. That’s all that matters,”

Stiles just smiled at her and held her hand on his cheek.

The oldest woman let go of Stiles, stood straight with a serious face and turned to Derek, “I hope you’ve been nice to Stiles, even though I highly doubt it.”

Stiles snorted at that a little hard and Derek glared at him.

“What? It’s not my fault that you’re a natural jerk,”

Derek’s scowled deepen, “Ever thought why people are jerks to you?”

Stiles stopped snickering and glared at Derek while the Alpha smirked victoriously.

 The tension was interrupted by Cora’s ‘Awwws’.

“What?” Stiles deadpanned.

“Your sexual tension is practically drowning me, Stiles” Cora smirked at both of them.

“And your ridiculousness never ceased to amaze me, Cora” and if Stiles tried to cover up his slightly faster heartbeats, nobody has to know.

“Whatever, snowball. You’re not going anywhere anymore!” Cora turned to Derek before continued. “And you got him enough, with your playtime at Deaton’s. Give us Stiles tonight and we call it even. So, be gone,”

“Yeah, I miss you too, Cora,” Derek ruffled her hair with a smirk.

“Fuck, Derek! You’re ruining my hair!” the youngest wolf batted his hand away.

“Cora, language. Hey, Derek” Laura hugged her younger brother and kissed his cheek chastely.

“Hey, Laura”

“God, Laura, you sounded so much like mom!” Cora snorted at both of them

“Well, one of us needs to”

While the two sisters bantered with each other, Derek’s gaze fell on Stiles who was watching them with a gentle smile.

“Guys…” the male Alpha tried to get their attentions back.

“WHAT?” both women snapped their heads to Derek.

“We’re still here”

“Oh god, sorry, Stiles. Have you eaten yet? Of course not! Derek is insensitive towards hungry humans. Forgive him. He’s just a selfish bastard like that. Come on! Let’s eat together. And we can talk. And by talking, I mean, I’m gonna kill you if you leave any stories behind”.

Cora dragged him away by his right hand to the bar. He turned his head and saw Laura was waving at him and Derek had a small smile on his face while watching Cora kidnapping him.

When they reached the bar, Cora left him to his seat while she went to get the food. Stiles sat on the bar stool and turned to look at Derek and Laura.

Both werewolves were talking seriously. Derek listened attentively to his sister while Laura was explaining something to him. From his seat, Stiles could see the uncanny similarities between them. If Stiles hadn't known better, he would say they're twins.

There were some sort of band busking at the patio, playing some sort of a slow song. Two boys with guitars, one girl singing and another boy drumming a box-like drum. 

“Here you go, loser”

The voice brought Stiles’ attention to Cora who was placing several plates; full of food, in front of them. Thankfully, there’s nobody sitting at the bar with them, because the plates took most of the space on the table.

“Cora, I can’t finish this!”

“Who says it’s all for you. You just eat whatever you wanna eat. Leave the rest to me,” Cora took a chicken drummet and chewed on it like a wolf.

They enjoyed their food for, while Stiles asked about the band. It turned out they were Derek's cousins. All of them are siblings and the girl was the youngest one. The girl looked sweet in her peach dress among her brothers. Everything really looked magical, except for C ora's loud chewing.

“If I’m trying to make a move on you, I’ll be questioning about my decision seeing you like this,” Stiles eyed the female wolf while sipping the drink; some sort of slushy cocktails.

“Thank god you’re making a move on my brother,” Cora added nonchalantly.

Stiles choked on his drink and looked pointedly at Cora

“Oh come on, snowball. I could smell your attraction towards the dickhead a country away and I bet Derek already knew about it. He’s just ignoring it because he’s blind and doesn’t have the ability to be like a normal human,” Cora rolled her eyes and resumed ravaging the food.

Stiles was rendered speechless by that. He didn’t know that werewolves could smell that. He must’ve looked stupid trying to appeal to the older wolf.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure Derek didn’t bother about it. His head is too thick to notice these things. But I’m not. So tell me, when did you fall in love with him?”

Stiles stared at Cora with wide eyes, “I didn’t say anything!”

Cora snorted and continued, “But you didn’t deny it either. Stiles, I've known you since you were a snotty brat. I can read you like an open book. So, out with the details!”

Before Stiles could continue denying it, he heard a shrilled woman voice.

“Derek! You’re here! Oh my god, I miss you!!”

Stiles saw a woman with long, wavy brunette hair hugging Derek while kissing his cheeks. Her dark blue long dress with straps hugged her body sexily. Derek was smiling wide and happy, unlike what Stiles had seen before. The scene somehow made his heart dropped.

“Oh, goodie. The bitch is here,” Cora’s voice sounded harsh and tight.

Stiles turned to her with an inquiring look.

“That’s Jennifer Blake. She’s the daughter of the leader of Guardians, Richard Blake,”

“I thought Deaton is the leader of the Guardians,”

“He was. But after he moved here with mom, somebody had to take care of the Guardians. Besides, without you, Deaton had plenty of things in his hands. Do you think Derek could do anything without him?” Cora snorted at that.

Stiles looked at Jennifer and Derek. They’re perfect standing next to each other. Jennifer was beautiful and Derek… well, he’s always perfect.

Cora could feel the hurt and disappointment rolling off the young mage, “Stop it! They’re nothing but friends, okay? She's got nothing on you,”

Stiles smiled at her before the wolf continued, “And if it makes you feel better, me and Laura prefer you than the bitch. She’s been eyeing Derek since forever, trying to have him to herself. As if his role as an Alpha leader doesn’t have anything to do with it. Pffttt… Mom and dad are too good to see that. It's all like high school prom, I tell ya,”

The young Guardian laughed at her comment. He was thankful to have Cora in his life. Even back in Beacon Hills, Cora was the only one who could understand him and never made fun of his choices. And Laura was always there to give him a push if he felt a little down.

“Cora, how are you?” Jennifer’s chirpy voice greeted them at the bar when she and Derek reached them.

“Peachy,”

If the situation was not awkward enough, Stiles would have laughed at Cora’s disgusted face. She really didn’t have any sense of holding back.

“Well, who’s this? Is it your boyfriend?” Jennifer was eyeing Stiles up and down.

“Jen, this is Stiles. My new Guardian,” Derek was looking at Stiles with a smile. The mage knew who the smile meant for and it’s not for him.

“Oh, **this** is Stiles? Oh, I’m sorry! Hi, I’m Jennifer, Derek’s friend,”

Stiles shook her hand, “Hey. Nice meeting you,”

“I didn’t exactly imagine you’re this young. With all the power that I’ve heard from Derek, I thought you’re, I don’t know, a little older, maybe?”

Stiles tried hard not to blush with her comments. It’s not his fault that he looked young and inexperienced.

“Don’t hate him because you’re getting old, Blake” Cora pressed through her gritted teeth.

“Cora…” Derek’s voice sounded tired.

“What? She started it!”

Jennifer smirked at Cora and flipped her hair, “While I really want to chat with you, I have to go and meet others who are worth my time. Bye, Cora. Let’s go Derek”

They watched the couple sauntered away in the sea of people. Stiles looked at Cora and saw her eyes were flashing gold.

“God, I hate her! Why the hell is Derek still with her?!”

Stiles patted her back, “Derek doesn’t have many friends. I think he’s trying to keep who are still with him,”

“Yeah, but that’s not the reason for her to be here. Derek’s better off without her! He’s so stupid!”

Stiles just chuckled at that. “Come on! Let’s eat. I’m starving”

The young mage felt a nagging feeling in his stomach but he held down the thoughts of Derek with somebody else.

* * *

Stiles was sitting alone on a bench in the garden, watching the crowd mingling around. It was still unreal to be at Derek's house. 5 years ago, if anyone said that he would have anything to do with the Hales, Stiles would just smack them because the Hales were an elite group. And a loser like him had no place near them. But now, he's someone important to the family. Stiles was still waiting for Derek to jump out and say "You've just got Punk'd!". 

He could see Derek from where he was sitting. The werewolf had his right arm around Jennifer's waist. They were talking to Talia and Daniel, looking happy with wide smiles. Derek didn’t spare a glance towards anyone, let alone Stiles.

He looked at the starry sky, wondering how long would it take for him to move on from Derek. It’d be difficult but he had to try. They’re better off without getting involved. Stiles didn’t want to make it hard and awkward for Derek.

The ringing of his mobile phone startled him. It’s Scott.

“Hey, man”

**_“Dude! You didn’t tell me you’re at the Hales!”_ **

“Sorry. Everything just happened so fast”

**_“How are you, man?”_ **

“I’m fine. Where’s Allison?”

**_“She’s at her study group. Why?”_ **

“Thought so. The only time you call me is when you don’t have Alli and you’re bored” snorted Stiles.

**_“Dude! That’s not true! I love you, man!”_ **

“Yeah, tell that to Alli”

God, he missed their laughter together.

**_“So…”_ **

“What?”

**_“Urm… How’s Derek?”_ **

“Why do you wanna know about Derek?”

The silence on the other line intrigued him.

“Scott?”

_**“Well… Erica may or may not tell Alli about you and Derek… Or just about you”** _

“I’M GONNA KILL HER!”

_**“Sorry! I overheard it when I came back this evening. Don’t tell her I said that! Alli’s gonna have my balls for breakfast!”** _

“She always have your balls, Scotty boy” Stiles made porn sound through the phone.

_**“What? No! Euuw I’m not talking about this with you!”** _

“You’re the one whose balls Allison’s having,”

_**“You’re crazy,”** _

“And you love me,”

Scott was silence for a moment before continued, _**“Yeah, man”**_

Years of being comfortable with each other, the silence calmed Stiles down. He really missed the shaggy wolf. They went through their lives together; with Claudia’s passing and Scott’s parents getting divorced. Even then, they got closer, relying on one another. Stiles was worried that Scott could not cope with his studies and being alone in Michigan. But his friend got Allison to be with. Even if Stiles went from his best buddy to just ‘buddy’, the young mage was okay with it.

**_ “You’re better than him, Stiles. Even though it’s been years since I’ve seen Derek, I know that he’s stupid if he doesn’t see you,” _ **

“Thanks, Scott”

**_“Well, I gotta go. Need to get Allison from the library,”_ **

“Yeah, you do that. Don’t want her to miss your balls for dinner,”

_** “I regret calling you,” ** _

“And yet, here we are,”

Scott laughed at Stiles’ ridiculousness.

_** “And Stiles, I’m here if you need me. We all are. If you feel it’s too much over there, you can always come back,” ** _

“Yeah. I might do that. I miss my dad too,”

_** “Later, dude!” ** _

Stiles sighed in the night. The voices had done nothing to soothe the emptiness in his heart. He looked at the party, searching for Derek. The Alpha now is swaying with Jennifer on the dance floor. They were looking at into each other eyes with soft smiles. For once, Stiles wished that he’s a werewolf so that he could listen to the whispers between the couple. They’re not just friends. They’re more than that and Stiles could see it clearly.

**_When your legs don't work like they used to before_ **

**_And I can't sweep you off of your feet_ **

People on the dance floor begun to sway to the music. The band were playing a new song with one of the boys with the guitar singing.

**_Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?_ **

**_Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?_ **

Derek was smiling all wide, full of love at Jennifer and the woman had her hands around his neck. The older man held her close with the hands on her waist, bringing their bodies together; forehead to forehead.

**_And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70_ **

**_And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23_ **

Stiles swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to wrench his eyes from the couple. But he couldn’t.

**_And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways_ **

**_Maybe just the touch of a hand_ **

**_Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day_ **

**_And I just wanna tell you I am_ **

Jennifer’s face moved towards Derek’s. And the man closed up the gap between them, bringing their mouths together.

**_So honey now_ **

Stiles could feel the lone tear slid down his right cheek.

**_Take me into your loving arms_ **

The pain in his heart made him hard to breathe.

**_Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars_ **

More tears clouded his vision, fighting to fall.

**_Place your head on my beating heart_ **

The couple were unaware of the world around them, getting lost in the kiss.

**_I'm thinking out loud_ **

**_That maybe we found love right where we are_ **

Unaware of Stiles’ broken heart.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm changing Gaby's age from 22 to 5. I kept on imagining a sweet little girl as Gaby. I can't help it but to change her age.
> 
> Sorry!

Stiles stood up and walked hurriedly to the side of the house. He wanted to go away. Anywhere but here. He could feel his power wavering, trying to come out and soothe him. His tears did nothing to the situation. 

"Stiles? Stiles, where are you going?"

Cora was calling from behind him. But Stiles kept on going, ignoring the Beta. Several feet from the front porch, he saw Laura was saying goodbye to the guests. The young mage couldn't deal with anybody right now. So he made a detour and went into the house.

He walked up the stairs and into hallways upon hallways. He didn't care. He just wanted to find an empty room where he could drop his act and be himself. Stiles tried an unlocked door at the end of the hallway and went it. The room was dark except for the lights from outside. He walked further inside and sat down on the floor by the window sill, with his back to the wall and legs to his chest. 

The tears that he was holding before dropped while he sobbed to himself, burying his head in his knees. He was stupid to fall hard for Derek. The wolf made it very clear time over time that they're nothing; that all physical contacts were only his wolf being silly. But Stiles still couldn't bear to see it with his own eyes. It was like a punch at his chest, forcing all air out and leaving him breathless.

His sobbing drowned out every sound around him; made him unaware of a pair of gold eyes glowing in the dark on the other side of the room.

The Spark jolted Stiles out of his crying, bringing his attention to the other creature with him.

Stiles wiped his eyes and looked at the creature. The gold eyes were staring straight into his eyes.

"Um... Hello?"

Stiles didn't know why but the wolf didn't scare him at all. His Spark was still on guard but because it's curious with the wolf. His trainings with Deaton finally paid off.

A low grumbling made Stiles sat properly before calling again, "I'm sorry if I trespassed. Did I bother you?"

The wolf stood up and crawled to Stiles on his paws. The wolf had silver fur with some shades of black on its back. It was eyeing Stiles warily and flashed its golden eyes again when his Spark made contact with the creature.

"Sorry! Um... My name is Stiles. Were you sleeping? I didn't mean to upset you or disturb your slumber," he thought of the Cave of Wonders in Aladdin and tried hard to hold in his snort. 

The wolf sniffed at him before turning its head abruptly at the door, ears stood up.

"Gaby! Where are you?"

Stiles had a few seconds before the wolf headbutted him further into the dark. It loomed on top of Stiles and flashed its fangs and eyes. 

"Okay, you want me to keep quiet, okay cool. I can totally do that without you killing me. Chill," his rambles was stopped when the wolf nipped at his nose. "Shutting up," Stiles stared wide eyes at the wolf on top of him

"Gaby?! Damnit! Where are you?! Gaby? Gaby!"

The voice slowed down, signalling that the person already went away.

Stiles let go his breath and still stared at the wolf. The silver creature let Stiles up and sat on its hind legs and looked at Stiles. He tried to touch the wolf but the fangs threatened to bite off his hand.

"Okay, no touchy. Got it. Um... Can you change back?"

The wolf huffed and laid down with its head on his paws, closing its eyes.

"Hey, don't ignore me! You were the one who came to me!"

The wolf just opened one of its eyes and closed it again, rumbling at Stiles.

"Fine! Be a jerk! Maybe you'll answer to the guy who was looking for you when I tell him that you're here," Stiles stood up, brushed off his pants and headed for the door. Before he could open it, the wolf nipped at his pants, halting him.

"What?"

The creature dragged him away from the door and pushed him to the window. It walked away for a few feet into the darkness from Stiles and he could hear bones breaking and aligning themselves. There was sounds of movements and a few moments later, a girl with silver hair emerged from the dark.

She was looking down on the floor, fidgeting on her feet with her hands hugging herself. It's like she was trying to shield herself from Stiles. 

"Um... Hi,"

The girl looked at Stiles for a beat and he could see a pair of beautiful glasz eyes with black outline shone with the lights from outside. Her curly silver hair was unruly and seemed to make her pale skin glowed in the dark. The elbow-length hair made her looked so small and fragile. Stiles couldn't believe that this was the wolf before.

"I'm Stiles," the young mage tried again, offering her his right hand.

The girl bit her lips while eyeing his hand. She moved slowly and took it in hers and muttered a small, "Gaby". Stiles smiled at her and looked around.

"What're you doing here in the dark?"

"I could ask you the same thing. You were crying," Gaby went back to hugging her body. Her diamond eyes looked at Stiles questioningly.

"Um... Let's just say something happened," Stiles rubbed his head, messing his hair more.

"Did somebody hurt you?" Gaby's question surprised Stiles. He stared at her while the girl just shrugged off, "I could feel your sadness and hurt. Maybe that's why your Spark called out to me,"

"It did?"

"Yeah, it was like your Spark pulled me to you, making my wolf felt your emotions too. I nearly attacked my brother when he was calling for me earlier,"

"Your brother? Why didn't you go out?"

"I wanted to be alone. He scolded me for running around the garden while he talked with his stupid friends. Besides, I'm just a kid," she rolled her eyes at her own comment.

"How old are you?"

"5. You?"

"23. And you're not a kid," Stiles used gentle voice nicely.

"Well, you sure look like one,"

He was already used to people saying he looked young but not from a stranger who's younger than him.

"Then that'd make both of us,"

Gaby snorted at Stiles before he continued, "Why did you wanted to attack your brother?"

She was staring at him, giving him the 'Are you serious?' look.

"What?"

The wolf sighed and told him, "You're a Guardian, right? So your Spark has connections with everything around you. That's why it was calling to my wolf, seeking protection. That's what my Guardian told me," Gaby sounded like she had practice the speech over and over again. She continued with a curious look, "Didn't anyone tell you that?"

"Yeah, Deaton told me that but I didn't know I would attract random wolf to me,"

"Deaton? Deaton's your trainer?," Gaby finally smiled. "Is his hair growing or he's still bald?"

"Shiny and bald," Stiles tried to joke back. The relationship between both Guardians was closer than ever before, thanks to the stories Deaton told him about his mother. Stiles always made fun of Deaton as a payback every time the old mage became cryptic during their trainings.

He loved the old man.

"Me and my brother once messed with his potions and it exploded in his face. I think that's why his hair didn't grow back," Gaby was now full on laughing with Stiles.

"Oh man! I wanted to do that to him!"

"Better luck next time!"

Their laughter died as soon as the door to the room burst open and the light flicked on.

"There you are, you little imp!"

"Oh man! Go away, Tristan!" Gaby ran behind Stiles, tried to shield from the other man.

The guy was taller than Stiles by few inches. His muscular body made the white button-down shirt stretched over his chest. The top buttons were undone. His long legs were clad in black jeans. And the stubbled on his face reminded the young mage of someone. The man stood in front of Stiles with his red Alpha eyes.  

Oh come on! Cut him some slack. Stiles was still getting used to werewolves flashing their eyes at him.

The low growling that came from the man made Gaby whimpered behind Stiles, which kicked in his protective mode on.

"Stop that!" Stiles yelled at the other wolf.

The man looked shocked but controlled his expression, "Gaby...". He called the young wolf again.

"NO! Go away! You yelled at me"

The man closed his eyes and sighed before opening them again to clear blue eyes, "Please, Gaby. I'm sorry,"

The young wolf was still hiding behinds Stiles and held onto his shirt. The whining broke Stiles' heart.

"Ummm... Okay, Gaby, let's talk this out. I'm sure your brother's sorry about his action. Come now. He's worried about you," Stiles took hold of her right hand and slowly brought the wolf to the front.

"He didn't mean it, you know that, right?" Stiles turned towards her and looked into her eyes.

The small whimper made the man sighed loudly, "I'm sorry,"

Gaby wiped her tears but she was still looking at the floor, "S'okay. I know that you didn't mean to be a stupid arrogant wolf like those people. They made you,".

The Alpha chuckled and hugged his sister while scenting her again, "I promise not to do that ever, if you promise not to run away and hide from me again,"

A muffled "Okay" made Stiles smiled.

The older man let go of Gaby and turned to him, offering his right hand, "I'm Tristan,"

"Stiles,"

Gaby went to stand next to him and hugged his left arm, "He accompanied me. Can you feel his Spark, Tristan?"

Tristan flashed his eyes, "Yeah. You've got a powerful thing going on inside you. Where's your Alpha?"

Stiles remembered the reason why he was hiding in the first place; the kiss between Jennifer and Derek.

"Um... he's somewhere out there," Stiles looked outside of the window and saw the party still going on. Nobody was searching for him. No surprise there.

"Well, I'm sure he's looking for you. Let's get back to the party,"

Gaby went out of the room first, leaving both men walking behind her.

"Thanks for looking after her," Tristan started first.

Stiles shook his head, "It was nothing. It's actually her looking after me. I kinda barged into the room. If it wasn't for her, I might've ended destroying the room with my power,"

"Panic attacks?"

"More like being possessed," that earned Stiles a snort from Tristan.

"I know what you're saying. Gaby has panic attacks sometimes. Our Guardian said maybe it's because she saw the hunters killed our parents when she was young,"

Stiles stopped in his track and stared at Tristan. 

"She was 2 and I was at my university at that time. She and my parents were wandering in the forest in their wolf form when the hunters ran across them. Gaby accidentally went over the border and those men hunted her down. My parents tried to save her but they were outnumbered. She didn't change back to human form until I came back that evening,"

He had heard about the story from Scott before. It was hot because a young wolf took over his whole pack at the age of 25 because his parents were killed in the hunter war. What made it even more popular was the wolf didn't have anybody but his small sister with him. Their whole family vanished after the attack.

Tristan was avoiding his gaze and finally settled on Gaby who was walking away in front of them.

"I'm sorry," Stiles felt stupid. His unrequited love was nothing compared to their past. He needed to get his grip together.

"It's okay. It was hard for us but I'm kinda thankful, y'know? If it wasn't for that event, I would've still be my previous immature self, going out every night and neglecting everything. And Gaby would be alone,"

The older man laughed while rubbing his head, "Sorry to blurted my past out. I had to make sure you understand our situation before Gaby tell you something random. And I know people are talking about me. So, why not?"

Stiles put his right hand on Tristan's left arm and said with a smile, "You're a good man, Tristan. Don't pay attention to other people. They don't know you. And this might be random but if you need anything from me, I'm right here,"

The Alpha looked surprised and they were staring at each other for a few moments, before Gaby's voice broke the tension between them.

"What are you doing? Come on, I'm hungry!"

Stiles let go of Tristan's arm and walked outside. He's sure his face is red as a cherry. He didn't know what went into him but he felt a sense of protectiveness towards Tristan and Gaby like he felt towards Isaac and Erica. And when he touched Tristan, he could feel his Spark sizzled, dancing around them. He felt like he was being pulled into that clear glassy blue eyes.

Gaby was sitting on a bench in the garden while swinging her legs. Stiles went to sit next to her, "What do you want to eat?"

"I want the barbequed nuggets and some lemonade, please,"

"Okay. You wait here,". Before Stiles could get up, Gaby reached for his hand and tugged him down.

"Can you stay here with me? Tristan can get them. Please?" Gaby's puppy eyes made him smile and Tristan ruffled her silver hair.

"Of course, princess. Anything for you, Stiles?"

"I'm good, thanks,"

Tristan nodded and went to get the food. Stiles leaned back on the bench and looked at the party.

"I'm sorry for growling at you before," Gaby was staring at the ground, kicking the dirt with her black shoes.

"Naaaah. I'm used to Alphas growling at me since high school,"

Gaby gasped and looked at him, "Really?"

"Yeah, really," Stiles snorted, remembering Jackson and his group of Neanderthals.

"That's not nice. Tristan said it's rude to growl at people. He said mom and dad didn't like it if he growled at people before,"

"Well, that's because Tristan is a nice Alpha. And those Alphas back then didn't have amazing parents like yours,"

Gaby looked back down and continued kicking the dirt.

"My parents are with the angels now. Tristan said that's where nice people go when they're no longer with us,"

Stiles looked down at her and stroke her head lovingly.

"He's right. My mom is with the angels now too. I lost her when I was 7 to cancer,"

The bright diamond eyes stared at him widely "What's a cancer?"

"It's an illness,"

"Oh...Ummm... I lost my parents to bad people. Tristan said those people wanted to get me because I'm special but my parents killed them before they died too,"

Stiles kept quiet, letting Gaby saying whatever she wanted to say.

"Is it funny if I don't really remember being with them?"

Stiles' heart dropped in his stomach and his eyes went wide.

"My head hurts so bad every time I try to remember them. And everything will go black. When I wake up, Tristan will be holding me and crying. It's always the same. He said it's panic attacks," she shrugged off like it was a normal thing to say to a stranger.

Stiles could feel tears welling up.

"Does that make me a bad person, because I couldn't remember them and I make Tristan cry all the time?"

The mage held her hand and caressed her face, "No, honey. It means that you're very strong and Tristan loves you so much,"

"But I don't remember them,"

Stiles willed his Spark to give Gaby some happiness before he continued.

"Even if you don't, your heart does. Does your heart hurt when you try to remember them?"

Gaby gave a small nod.

"Then your heart remembers them. Memories in our head will be forgotten, but never in our heart, okay? They stay forever, in here," Stiles touched Gaby's chest right where her heart is.

The young girl smiled at him and hugged him, nuzzling in his neck. The small purring made his heart swelled with love for the young wolf.

* * *

 

They were eating at the bench when Tristan came back with Gaby's food. The girl was sitting in between both men and Tristan was holding her plate and drink. She would talk and point at random things, asking Stiles and Tristan about everything.

When she's done, Stiles took her to wash her hands while her brother threw the paper plate and cup. Stiles was on his way back with Gaby in his hand before Derek's voice came from the other side of the pool.

"Stiles!"

Stiles stopped and turned towards the man. Derek was walking hand-in-hand with Jennifer towards them. The Alpha eyed Gaby before looking at Stiles.

"Where did you go? I was looking for you,"

Stiles could see Jennifer smirking at him being asked like a child. He gave a sideway glance before answering Derek.

"I was getting some air. Sorry," Stiles tried to avoid the Alpha's eyes by looking at Gaby.

Gaby could feel the same sadness and hurt when they were in the room coming out from Stiles and flashed her eyes at Derek with a low growl.

The older man stared at the girl; shocked by the action.

"Gaby!"

Great. More Alphas.

Tristan stood next to Gaby, eyeing Derek and Jennifer. His red eyes flashed dangerously at both of them.

Derek frowned before flashing his eyes too.

"Derek?" Jennifer tried to get his attention but got a low snarling in return.

Tristan then put his left hand on Stiles' left shoulder, tugging him and Gaby backwards and stood in front of them.

Derek's snarling turned to loud growling as he stared at the other Alpha shielding Stiles.

Tristan was hunching over, getting ready to attack and Derek was now on the verge of changing into his beta form. Stiles could see fur starting to cover his face and fangs were making their appearances slowly.

Gaby's crying made everything worse when Tristan growled at Derek, taking him as a threat for making Gaby upset. What Stiles didn't expect was for Derek change and to roar at Tristan, turning everybody's attentions to them. Now there was a commotion around them when people tried to calm the feral Alpha.

Stiles picked Gaby up and hugged her, holding her head to his neck, willing his Spark to calm the young wolf. He hoped with Gaby settling down, Tristan would too. Jennifer was trying to calm Derek but the wolf just snapped his teeth at her, making her tumbled backwards.

The young mage saw both of Derek's parents behind Jennifer, staring with horrified expression on their faces.

"Derek! Stop that!" Talia used her Alpha voice over her son.

Derek turned towards his parents and snarled at them. 

Gaby already quieted down to small sniffling. Stiles touched Tristan's back and Derek turned to them with a loud roar. The Spark sizzled, making Stiles' palm grew hot. He wrenched his hand and stared at Derek. The wolf was using his dominance to make the Spark hurt Tristan. 

Stiles put Gaby down and with a small voice, he said to Tristan, "Take Gaby and moved away slowly,"

Tristan glance at Stiles sideway before Derek roared again. His red eyes looked hollow and soulless.

"Tristan, please,"

"He might hurt you,"

Stiles smiled at Derek before continued, "He won't because I'm his mate,"

The mage walked slowly towards Derek who was in his beta form. His eyes was following Stiles' movements, crouching low; getting ready to charge at Tristan. When he's right in front of Derek, Stiles dropped down to his knees and held Derek's face.

"I'm sorry,"

The wolf eyed him pointedly, fangs out. Derek glanced at Tristan and growled again.

Stiles touched the wolf's cheeks and caressed him lovingly.

"I'm here. I'm yours,"

The wolf growled before burying his face in Stiles' neck and licked every inch of the skin he could reach. Derek's arms were around Stiles, shielding him from everybody.

Stiles pulled out his face and stared into the dark red eyes, "Come back, Derek. Please? For me,"

The wolf whined before changing back.

"Welcome back, sourwolf,"

Derek's scowling looked ridiculous with the pout. He continued on scenting Stiles while everybody was looking at them. 

Stiles saw people were murmuring around them and some of them got their phones out, recording the event. His face grew hot.

"Umm.. Derek? Maybe we could do this later?"

The Alpha growled lowly at him without stopping.

"Derek?" Talia's voice finally made him stop licking and sniffing Stiles. Derek looked at his parents before letting Stiles go. He just turned towards them rather than moving away from Stiles.

Laura was staring at them while Cora was smiling wide, showing two thumbs up at him. Stiles could also see Deaton behind Talia and Daniel, looking amusingly at Derek. 

When Talia's sure everything was okay again, she gave a nod to Daniel.

"Okay, people. The fun's over. Go back to getting drunk," Daniel ushered everybody to the party, leaving Talia, Deaton, Cora, Laura and Jennifer with them. 

Stiles chance a glance at Tristan and saw he was holding Gaby up in his arms, looking at him and Derek.

"So, it's true? That both of you are mates" Talia broke the tension with a calm voice.

The horrified look on Jennifer's face made Cora chuckled at her, which earned her a glare from Talia and Laura.

"Derek?" 

Derek turned his head a bit towards Stiles before moving forward, leaving him.

"I'm going back. Thanks for the party mom," Derek just hugged his mother and kissed her cheek.

"Derek, please," Talia tried again.

"No! I'm tired and I want to go," Derek's loud voice boomed, making everybody flinched.

He sighed before going back to the party, "I'm saying bye to dad,". Jennifer casted a glance at Stiles before following him too.

Derek's ignorance of their situation was a clear answer for Stiles. And it hurt him so much. The Alpha still didn't want to admit that they're mates even to his family because he never considered them as one. That the idea of them being together angered the wolf. It made Stiles felt unwanted and so embarrassed. For once in his lifetime, he was wondering why was he still alive.

Stiles didn't ask to be in this situation. He didn't ask to fall in love with someone who didn't love him back. He just wanted to live his life with the memories of his mother.

He laughed at the ground while rubbing his eye. He's really tired of this love game.

Cora went to him before hugging him tightly. 

"He's fucking stupid and you're strong. You're stronger than this. Don't you ever forget that,"

Laura hugged him from behind, "I'll talk to Derek,"

They let him go and Stiles gave a small smile. He went to Talia and the women hugged him.

"You can come here at anytime. You're one of us. Always,"

The young man only smiled at Deaton and turned to Tristan and Gaby. The other Hales had left them at the side of the house. Gaby was making grabby hands at him before Tristan letting her down. She ran to Stiles and hugged him tightly. Stiles hefted her up and the wolf planted her face into Stiles' neck.

"Don't cry. If you cry, then I will cry too,"

Stiles walked towards Tristan and the man had a sad look on his face.

Stiles didn't need anyone's pity.

"Hey, I'm the one who got rejected, why you have the long face?" Stiles tried to fake his laugh.

Tristan only looked at him with the same expression.

Stiles avoided his eyes and tried to pry Gaby from his neck, "Honey, you have to let me go,"

"No!"

"Please, Gaby. For me?"

A wet face and the cold at his neck told Stiles that Gaby had been crying. Her bottom lips were shaking and her eyes were red with tears.

"Oh, baby. We'll meet again. You can always come to Beacon Hills later and we'll play together, okay?"

Gaby only nodded and went to her brother when Stiles gave her to him.

He walked back to the party to say goodbye to Daniel, when he heard Jennifer's voice.

"Derek, you can't leave now. What would my dad say?"

"Jen, please. I'm tired,"

"I know, baby, but don't let the kid ruin our night. We're finally together,"

Derek just sighed and hugged her.

"I understand that it's hard and you don't want it to happen. I'm here for you. Anything you want, just tell me, okay?"

Jennifer stroke his hair while Derek sagged in her arms.

Stiles turned on his heel and went back to Tristan.

"Can you give me a ride back home?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey~ Sorry for all the angst!  
> I promise you, it'll get better!
> 
> Keep the faith guys!

* * *

 

The trip back home was awkward. 

With Gaby sleeping in Stiles' lap in the passenger seat and Tristan kept on glancing to him; he just wished there was no policeman doing rounds at this time of the night. 

Stiles looked around at the interior design of Tristan's black Evoque.

_Damn son._

And they were staying at the Plaza Hotel when Stiles asked about it on their way to Tristan's car

Does the Alpha leader spot come with wealth and fame in the territory? 

He heard a soft sigh before Tristan let out a small, "Stiles..."

Stiles looked at him before looking outside of the window.

Tristan looked tired and guilty. He could feel the wolf worried of him through their connection but he refused to give attention to it.

Gaby let out a small whine before settling down when Stiles rubbed her back gently.

The young wolf had her face covered with her hair. She looked like young Merida from Brave and Stiles couldn't help but kiss her forehead. In the period of one night, he felt like both wolves were a part of his life. Like they have known each other for a long time. And his Spark liked Tristan very much; going with the constant purring in his body.

"Stiles, do you wanna talk about it?"

The Guardian let out a heavy sigh before looking at Tristan again.

"About what?"

The wolf gave the same sad look and continued looking towards the road.

"About anything,"

Stiles looked outside again, taking note of the half moon in the dark starry sky. It was a peaceful night and it reminded him of Beacon Hills.

"There's nothing to talk about. You were there,"

Stiles was startled when Tristan took his right hand and gave a light squeeze.

They didn't need to say it out loud but Stiles could feel his Spark going to the hand that Tristan was holding and another power surged inside him, calming his Spark.

"Our Guardian back home said every being in the world is connected to each other. He taught me to will my Alpha in helping others sometimes,"

Stiles looked at the Alpha and he felt his Spark came out, flowing in the air.

"Your Spark is as much as my wolf right now, Stiles. It can feel your pain and disappointment. So, you can just let it go. It's just me here,"

The tears that slid down his cheeks didn't surprise him as he held on to Tristan's hand tightly.

The memory of Derek denying him as his mate came back to his mind. The way that his own Alpha ignored him and went to another woman was like a stab to his chest.

They can never be together. Even if they were fated from decades ago, Stiles would still end up being alone. He could hear Jackson's words ringing in his ears.

_"Werewolves don't mate with parasites,"_

Stiles hid his face in Gaby's hair, the sweet flowery smell gave a small tranquility in his grief. His shoulders shook with his sobbing and he couldn't breathe properly. Gaby tightened her hold around Stiles' waist instinctually and whined in his neck. Even when she was sleeping, her wolf responded to his emotion. The mage hugged her back and took a long breath, forcing himself to stop crying.

He didn't realize that the car had already stopped and they were in front of his apartment now as he wiped his eyes.

Stiles heard the familiar seatbelt click and looked over to Tristan. The wolf was already making his way to his side. He opened his door and saw Tristan stood in front of him with a small smile.

"Let me get her,"

The older man took Gaby and put her in her in the back seat, putting the seatbelt on. The girl must've been really tired as she didn't move a bit when she was being jostled around.

After closing the car doors, they walked together to Stiles' front door. The mage was looking at the pavements while fidgeting with his hands.

"Sorry to give you nightmares; you had to see my snot," he laughed awkwardly, trying to cheer up the situation.

Tristan chuckled and turned to him when they reached the door, "Trust me, yours was nothing compared to Gaby's,"

Stiles looked up to him and saw the same small smile.

"Why are you being nice to me?"

The Alpha raised both of his eyebrows, confused with the question, "What do you mean?"

Stiles sighed and hugged himself, looking at Gaby in the car.

"I didn't mean to crush into your life and drag you into this shit with me. You can go back now. Thanks for everything,"

The mage turned to his door and took out his keys, avoiding Tristan's gaze.

A hand halted his movements and he looked at the other man.

"As far as I know, Gaby had never laughed like she had laughed tonight with you. She never opened up to a stranger before like she opened up to you. You made everything seemed easy,"

Tristan looked down to their joined hands before continued.

"You didn't drag us into anything. You actually saved me from being hated by my little sister,"

Tristan's blue eyes stared deep into his whiskey eyes.

"I never regret meeting you. You're unique, Stiles. And only someone who's special and important enough would get you one day,"

The gentle wind whispered in the silent night. The moon was smiling down on the couple and the Spark was gliding around them.

Stiles gave a small laughed and thought why he can't just fall in love with Tristan instead of someone farfetched?

The wolf suddenly engulfed him in a tight hug and Stiles was speechless.

After a few minutes, Stiles pulled back to look at the other man. Tristan's ears were red and there's a tinged of blushed on his cheeks.

"Sorry," Tristan murmured and squirmed on his feet.

Stiles smiled at him and touched his hand.

"Thank you for everything, Tristan,"

The wolf just shrugged off.

They smiled at each other before he continued.

"You should get in. It's getting cold. I've seen Gaby's snot dangling like icicles and it ain't a pretty picture,"

Stiles snorted at Tristan, "Better than me looking like a Spiderman shooting web through my nose,"

"Either way, I don't think I'm brave enough to see it,"

Tristan laughed before Stiles unlocked his door and went inside.

"Good night, Tristan,"

"Night, Stiles,"

He shut the door and was gifted with silence. He heard Tristan went into his car and drove away. Stiles walked into the living room and saw Chase sleeping on the floor; a note on the table.

 

_**Went out to movie with friends. Erica's at Boyd's. Already fed Chase.** _

 

He was grateful that nobody was home to see his puffy eyes and tired face. He just wanted to go to sleep.

Chase woke up as he felt Stiles let his Spark out, leaving his body sagged on the couch. The dog barked and whined pitifully while Stiles rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm.

"Sorry for the mood killer, man. I promise it'd be better tomorrow,"

Chase gave him a final licked at his right cheek before trotting into Stiles' bedroom. 

The mage stood up from the couch and followed his dog. And later when he cried while holding the dog, it'd be their secret only.

* * *

 

Stiles woke up to another body behind him. The person pulled him tightly when he tried to move away. The heat was stifling him and Chase; being a big dog he was; kept on trying to climb on top of Stiles.

"Sthap eettt..."

Isaac's voice was muffled on his back when the wolf nuzzled the mage. He buried his head more into Stiles' back and tried to push Chase off of him.

The dog fought to stay put when he turned and tried to sneak in between Isaac and his master.

"Chaaaaaaseeee..."

Isaac was fully whining now and the dog only huffed and continued his attempt.

"What are you doing here, Isaac?"

Stiles was tired and death by hugging wasn't on his list today.

"Heard you were crying. Had to sleep with you," Isaac's sleepy mumbled showed that he came back late last night.

"Urgh fuck this!"

Stiles tugged his body hard, away from Isaac's deathlike grip and rolled off the bed. He kicked Isaac's leg and went out of the room.

He tried to look for his phone but it was nowhere to be found. He didn't remember if he brought it with him to the party or not. He saw the clock on Isaac's phone beeping 11.10am.

The Guardian sighed and went into the bathroom. After washing his hand and face, he looked into the mirror and saw his puffy eyes. The eyebags under them made him looked sick. 

"Bath. Definitely,"

When he came out of the bathroom, he saw Isaac eating cereal at the kitchen table and Chase laying down on the floor next to him. Stiles went into his room, dressed up and went to Isaac.

"Cereal?"

Stiles shook his head and went to pat Chase.

"Hey there, buddy. What do you want for lunch?"

The wolf barked at him and licked his hand.

"Chopped steak it is!" He went to the fridge to prepare the meal.

"Why are you giving him human food?"

Stiles hummed to Isaac while taking out the leftover steak from their previous dinner. He might as well threw in some chicken and made a new recipe as a payback to Chase for being down yesterday.

"Because he asked for it,"

Isaac snorted at his answer before chewing his cereal again. Stiles should listen to himself sometimes. He sounded like a deranged man.

When the meal was ready, he gave it to Chase and went into the living room. Isaac was sitting on the couch watching 'Friends'. The wolf moved a bit to the side and when the mage sat down, he put his head on Stiles' lap and sighed happily. Stiles just rolled his eyes and combed his hair gently.

"You didn't eat anything," Isaac mumbled.

"I'm not hungry,"

Isaac just turned his head to Stiles and looked at him for a few moments before watching the show again.

Stiles was fine.

The doorbell knocked his gaze of the television. He hesitated for a moment before Isaac said, "Derek"

Stiles' heartbeat increased slightly and the wolf eyed him curiously.

The impatient wolf kept on pressing the doorbell, making the apartment ringing with the sound.

Stiles took a deep breath before going to the door and opening it.

"Yes?"

Derek just walked in, bumping his shoulder to Stiles.

Stiles was taken aback with the wolf.

He shut the door and followed the wolf. Derek was sitting next to Isaac, leaning back on the couch.

"What are you doing here, Derek?"

The Alpha took something from his right hand pocket and held out Stiles' phone to him without looking at him.

"You left your phone in my car when you went back with your friend last night,"

The mage took his phone and saw 20 missed calls and several messages.

"You didn't answer. It was ringing on the seat when I called you on my way back,"

Stiles opened the list of missed calls and 18 of them were from Derek; all was just a few minutes apart; while the other two were from Isaac and Erica. He proceeded to open the text message and saw 5 unread messages. The first 2 were from Erica and Isaac, telling him they're going out. And the other 3 came from the Alpha.

 

_**10:40pm** _

_**Where did you go!** _

 

_**10:50pm** _

_**Call me ASAP** _

 

_**11.00pm** _

_**Lunch. Tomorrow.** _

 

That was the time when Stiles went back with Tristan. He put his mobile phone on the dining table and looked at Derek again.

"Well?" Stiles folded his arms on his chest.

"Well what? I'm here for lunch,"

It was unbelievable for Derek to just come here and asked for lunch like nothing happened last night. This Alpha was sure full of himself.

"I thought you were with Jennifer,"

"She went back this morning with her family,"

Stiles was talking to Derek's hair as the wolf refused to turn and look at him; glueing his eyes on the television.

Isaac had known better to just ignore both of them and watched the show. 

"So?"

"So, I'm still waiting for my lunch. What are we having today?"

Before Stiles could give him a piece of his mind, the doorbell rang again.

The mage let out a heavy breath and went to the door.

"STILES!"

He nearly tumbled down when Gaby launched herself to him. He hefted the little girl and she rubbed his face with hers; scenting him.

"I miss you! You didn't say goodbye to me last night!" Gaby's pout made him smile to the wolf.

"Sorry to come here but she kept on asking for you. And I don't have your number," Tristan was smiling shyly at the mage.

"It's fine. I miss the little princess too," Stiles tickled her sides which earned him a full giggle.

"No, Stiles! Stop it!"

Tristan coughed awkwardly before speaking, "Umm.. are you doing anything now? Because we're about to go for our lunch. And maybe you could... join us?"

The mage put Gaby down and held on to her right hand.

"Yeah! We're having pizza for lunch and nobody says no to pizza. So you can't say no, Stiles!" Gaby was jumping up and down, making her hair bouncing cutely.

"Of course not! That'd make me a monster!" Gaby giggled at him again.

Tristan looked at him and smiled, "So that's a yes?"

Stiles was about to answer him when he felt a body moved behind him. He saw Tristan stiffened and his face turned serious. Gaby let go of his hand and stood next to her brother, gripping his left hand.

"Tristan," his Alpha's voice sounded harsh and tight.

"Derek," Tristan nodded at Derek behind him.

Stiles felt his Spark rolling like a wave inside him, alarmed with the clash of powers between the two Alphas.

"You were saying?" Derek raised his eyebrow and challenged the other wolf.

Tristan held his head up and looked straight into the angry man's eyes, "I was asking Stiles for lunch with us. And he said yes,"

Derek's low rumbling vibrated on his back from where they were standing close to each other.

"He did, did he? I thought **we** were having lunch together. Stiles? " 

The young man smiled at Tristan and Gaby before making a space for them, "Come in. I'm gonna go change and you can wait inside,"

He didn't turn to Derek and followed the siblings. He could feel his Alpha's angry eyes burning holes behind his head.

Isaac was standing and smiling at the two guests.

"Guys, this is my housemate, Isaac. Isaac, Tristan and Gaby,"

Isaac shook Tristan's hand and dropped to his knee in front of Gaby.

"Well, hello there, princess. It's an honour to meet you," the wolf kissed Gaby's hand which made her blushed and hid behind her brother's legs.

She did look like a princess in her pink gown. Her hair was in two ponytails and her bangs made her face looked small. There was a crown pin in her hair that made Stiles cooed inside.

"You can sit here and I'll be right back,"

Tristan smiled at him and sat on the couch with Gaby on his lap, watching cartoon when Isaac switched the channel. 

Stiles randomly picked black jeans from his closet and a white shirt. He then pulled a plaid shirt on top of it and smooth down his hair a bit. He forwent any hair products, pushing his hair backwards and went out.

He saw Derek was leaning by the dining table, scowling at the siblings. Or more at the other Alpha. 

Stiles rolled his eyes at that and went to the couch. 

"Ready to go?"

Gaby jumped off Tristan's lap and held his hand, "Can Isaac come too? He knows a lot of cartoons and he told me that I look like a Disney princess!"

The girl was talking nonstop; or more to squealing at him. Isaac was smiling wide with hopeful eyes.

"Ask your brother. He's the one paying," Stiles looked at Tristan and the wolf smiled at his sister.

"Of course," 

Stiles turned to Derek and the Alpha was frowning so hard that Stiles had a headache looking at the wrinkles on his scrunched forehead.

"You're staying?"

Derek raised one of his eyebrow and slowly the frown turned to an evil smirk. Stiles regretted asking the older man.

"Got a room for one more?"

* * *

 

The pizza restaurant was not packed with people, thankfully. It was weird because it's Sunday and people were lazy to cook on Sunday. They'd prefer to eat outside. But Stiles just brushed it off.

On his left was Gaby and Derek was on his right. Next to the Alpha was Isaac and then Tristan. The round table looked full with 3 big werewolves sitting at it. Stiles felt small; like he was the same size as Gaby.

They ordered 2 large 'I Love Meat' pizza for the werewolves and a regular Chicken Tropicana for Stiles and Gaby. The food took most of the table but thankfully the wolves didn't need plates to eat, like Stiles and Gaby (obviously).

 Derek was biting his pizza while eyeing Tristan. It it wasn't for the pizza, he looked like he was about to chew off Tristan's head.

Tristan looked to the mage from him wiping Gaby's cheeks, smiling at Stiles. 

Derek suddenly banged the table and said through his gritted teeth, "Could you pass the salt, Tris-tan?"

The smile on the other Alpha's face froze while looking at Derek. He gave the salt to Stiles before the mage gave it to Derek. The man had a sarcastic smile on his face.

Stiles squinted his eyes at the wolf but he just rolled his eyes away. The mage then made an angry face at the wolf but he just huffed and ignored him.

Tristan cleared his throat before said to Derek, "So, how's Jennifer? I didn't get to talk to her last night,"

"She's fine," Derek didn't bother to look at the other man from the view outside of the restaurant.

The conversation ended like that.

Stiles kicked Derek's leg under the table which earned a growl from the older man.

"What?!" Derek whispered at him.

"Stop that! Be nice to him," Stiles breathed out.

Derek blew the air through his nose and rolled his eyes away again.

Gaby, the cute girl she was, broke the tension.

"Ummm... Mr. Hale, do you hate me?"

 Both the Alpha mates stopped trying to kill each other and turned to the little angel.

"Huh?"

"Last night... um... you growled at me," Gaby was shredding the tissue on her neck while looking pointedly at her lap.

 Stiles leaned back on his seat with a raised eyebrow to Derek and smirked at him. This was the first time the Alpha looked scared of a little girl.

"Uh no,"

Gaby looked up at Derek with shiny puppy eyes and asked, "Really?"

The Alpha looked at Stiles, asking for help and the mage just ignored him, smiling at the girl.

"Do you think he hates you, Gaby?"

"I don't think so," the young wolf's small voice was barely audible.

"No."

Everybody turned to Derek when his voice came out.

"No. I don't hate you... Never. Uh we can never hate cubs," Derek stared intently into Gaby's beautiful eyes before nodding to her.

The girl squealed and launched herself at Derek across Stiles' lap to hug him. Stiles barely got a hold of his drink and plate. Derek looked dumbfounded with the young wolf clinging to his neck. 

"I don't hate you too," and Gaby's face turned serious when she pulled back, arms still around the Alpha's neck, "But you made Stiles cried. Did you say sorry to him?"

Stiles' eyes widen at her question and looked at Derek on top of her head. His Alpha was staring deep into his eyes, searching for something.

"And when you were with that lady, Stiles was hurting so much too. Why did you do that?"

Stiles ripped his gaze away and looked at the pizzas on the table. His heart was beating loudly and he could feel everybody at the table was looking at him.

Stiles couldn't bear listening to awkward apology being forced out of Derek. That was between them. He didn't need another reminder of how Derek rejected him last night.

The Guardian laughed and wiped his mouth before turning to Gaby, avoiding his Alpha's stare.

"Gaby, why don't you finish your pizza and we can get the ice cream at park after this, okay?"

The girl gasped and crawled over the white mage's laps back to her seat to resume her eating.

Stiles coughed a bit before saying to no one in particular, "Excuse me," and escaped to the bathroom.

He went into one of the stalls and locked the door. The mage closed the lid and sat on the toilet, trying to relax himself. 

Why did he have a shitty fate? To face Derek the day after the Alpha openly rejected him as his mate, in front of his family members, was totally not on his list. He was this close to jinx Derek when he came to their apartment this morning, acting like nothing happened yesterday.

He closed his eyes and thumped his head on the wall.

He's not strong at all.

* * *

 

 Tristan was worried that the mage was still in the toilet. He had seen what happened to his sister when she had panic attacks; he didn't want the same thing to happen to Stiles.

"Gaby, can you wait here for a while with Isaac and Derek?"

"Okay," the girl was distracted with the way Isaac ate 2 pizzas at the same time and she asked him to teach her.

Tristan just shook his head with a fond smile and patted her's before standing up. But Derek's red eyes stopped him from moving.

"Where are you going?"

"To look for Stiles,"

"You don't have to. I'll go," Derek stood up and left Tristan; heading for the Stiles.

When the dark haired Alpha walked by him, the silver haired man could hear him snarling, "He's **MY** Guardian,"

* * *

  

The sound of the toilet door being opened jolted Stiles out of his reverie.

"Stiles?"

He flinched at Derek's voice and put his hand on his mouth, worried that he might make a noise.

"Stiles, I could practically hear you breathing,"

Stiles still refuse to say anything and pulled his legs up on top of the toilet seat.

He heard the toilet door being locked.

"Stiles, come on,"

The mage was scared of what he would do to the wolf. He was trying hard to get away from the other man that his Spark was buzzing threateningly under his palms.

He stood up slowly and went out of his stall. Stiles saw Derek's eyes flashed red at him. The wolf was reacting to the Spark's hostility.

"What are you doing, Stiles?"

Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

Erica was right. Derek deserved to know about his feelings. What'd happen after that, just leave it to the fate.

_This is it._

He opened his eyes and braced himself. _Once and for all, like a bandaid_.

"I love you, Derek,"

The Alpha's face was expressionless.

"I've loved you since the day you threatened Erica at the mall. I've loved you since Deaton made us trained together. I've loved you since your wolf met my Spark for the first time. And I've always loved you. I-I didn't mean to fall for you but I did,"

The silence was killing him but he couldn't stop now.

"I know you never asked for it and trust me when I say me too. B-but you made me feel like home; safe and complete. Your wolf is a part of me as it's a part of you. I wanna hold you when you're sad. I wanna kiss you and tell that everything's gonna be okay. I wanna be with you, Derek Hale. I-I wanna be there when you're angry at me. Or when you're tired of my rants. It doesn't matter if you're socially awkward or you hate people. I love you and we can hate people together too,"

Stiles' voice was getting higher and higher.

"You're perfect. They way you huffed when you're angry, like you're mad at your employees. The way you rolled your eyes when you didn't get anything your way, like when we went to the McDonald's drive-thru and they didn't have chocolate milkshake when you asked for it. The way you pouted and sulked for hours before I asked you what happened, like when you had to stay back after one of your workers made a mistake in the documents. They way you smiled with Isaac and Erica when they managed to trick you. Or the way you looked at Boyd when nobody was looking, but I did see it. I-I-I love you, Derek Hale. And I want to be with you,"

The young Guardian was breathing loudly like he ran in a cross country. He didn't care if his face was beet red or his hands were shaking or his mind was blank. He wanted to tell Derek what he had felt all these times and yet he thought it still wasn't enough.

Derek just stared at him; wide hazel eyes, not moving. 

Stiles was waiting for the Alpha's reply like a death sentence. It was breaking him deep inside as minutes passed by.

The sound of phone ringing shocked both men.

"Derek," the wolf answered while looking at the floor; breaking their gaze.

The young Guardian just stood there.

"What?!"

Derek's face turned serious and he turned around to the door.

"I'll be there,"

The silence was back on with Stiles looking at the back of Derek's leather jacket.

"Derek...?"

"Something happened in Beacon Hills. We have to get there,"

And with that, Stiles was left alone in the bathroom.

His heart didn't break. Not anymore.

He didn't have enough pieces to be broken again.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thank you again for the comments and love! 
> 
> I'm sorry for all the careless errors. I hope my poor grammar didn't throw you off the story. (My English is getting rusty *sigh*)
> 
> Sorry for the late update because I had my writer's block. But I'm good now. Lets just hope my works let me update this story faster.
> 
> So a loooong chapter for you guys!
> 
> THANKS AGAIN!!!!!
> 
> p/s: i just randomly googled Tristan's "black pendant" and made some edits to the picture. So, I take no credits for it. If it's yours, thank you for sharing the amazing symbol! It's so so beautiful!

* * *

It was Tuesday evening when Stiles and Isaac were packing their things while Erica and Boyd waited for them in the living room.

They took 2 days to put everything in boxes to bring them to Beacon Hills.

After Derek had left the restaurant with Boyd on Sunday (according to the owner who said he left with a dark skinned bouncer and Stiles just took that as the Beta), Tristan had sent the mage and his friend back home.

The silver-haired Alpha didn't even have to pay for their lunch.

_"Anything for the son of Talia Hale," said the owner of the pizza restaurant._

Stiles didn't say anything except holding Gaby tightly to his chest all the way back; muttering  _“You are my Spark”_  to the little girl's thick silver hair.

Or more to himself.

Nobody had said anything ever since and they chose to ignore it.

When they got back home, Erica was already there. She told them about the situation.

Apparently an unfamiliar pack was travelling to Beacon Hills. Nobody knew what they wanted but other Alphas had warned Derek about a powerful Guardian within the group. Rumour had it that the pack was looking for a territory to call as their own; as a mean to expand their power. And with Derek being constantly away in New York, that put Beacon Hills as a perfect target.

Erica had decided to quit her job at the cafe and follow her mate there. And Isaac followed everywhere Stiles went. The boy had nobody else in the world anymore and the brown eyed man couldn't bear to part with the pup.

Boyd suggested for them to join Derek's pack. Both wolves had looked at Stiles hopefully when Boyd said that.

He wanted them to join the pack too but everything was up to the Alpha. And Stiles was not ready to talk to other man yet.

Not now.

So he 'bestowed' the responsibility on Boyd. The dark skinned man just looked at him and sighed while shaking his head.

_"Both of you are stupid,"_

It's not a surprise if he already knew about what had happened between the Alpha mates in the restaurant.

Stiles just smiled at the older wolf appreciatively and resumed packing.

"I guess that's everything," Isaac eyed the boxes all over Stiles' bedroom. The Beta's stuffs were not that much and he had already finished packing them that morning.

Stiles wiped his forehead before speaking, "The moving truck will be here tomorrow morning at 8.00,"

The sun was setting down in the horizon, bathing the space with orange shade all over it. The young Guardian looked all over his bedroom. He had spent 5 years in this room; running away from his past.

He still remembered when he first got to New York. He had little money and only a bag of clothes on his back. Stiles didn't tell his father about it; worried of the old man's health. That night, he found Erica and Isaac who were working at the cafe. And the wolves gladly took him under their wings.

When he told Scott about the wolves, Scott came with Allison to help him settle down. They supported him throughout his college years and even until now. He owed the 3 wolves and the hunter everything.

He could see the coffee stain on the carpeted floor from when Isaac spilled it after Chase jumped on him; the dent on the carpet from the heavy mass when the 3 of them crashed into his bed more often than not; or the window sill where Stiles would always linger when he felt particularly lonely on some nights and he looked into the sky, thinking of his mother.

And tomorrow he'd be going back to where everything started.

Stiles put his left hand Isaac shoulder and breathed out.

He could do this.

He's fine.

* * *

They arrived at the airport with Boyd around 10am as their flight was scheduled at 11am that Wednesday morning.

Derek already reached Beacon Hills first on Monday. He had to be there as an Alpha leader of his pack. Stiles was extremely grateful for that. He didn't think he was strong enough to see the man.

Tristan walked to Stiles with Gaby hefted in his arms. The siblings were smiling widely at the mage and Gaby made grabby hands at Stiles, asking him to take her.

"Will you still remember us?" the little wolf's pair of diamond eyes looked hopefully into the brown whiskey orbs.

"I can never forget you even if I try," Stiles stroke her hair out of her face.

"Promise?" Gaby held out her pinky to Stiles.

"Only if you promise to look after Chase for me," smiled the mage.

Stiles left his dog to the siblings; using  _“He won't be comfortable with the move”_  as an excuse. Even if he's not there with them, his Spark would live in the dog to watch over the family. And that's the least of thing he could offer to both of them as a thank you.

"Promise," the little girl replied and the Guardian kissed both of her cheeks after connecting their fingers.

He let her down and looked at the brother. The silver haired man was smiling at him. He couldn't exactly put it in words but his Spark was agitated. It was like the power didn't like him leaving both siblings.

"You'll call us?" the Alpha's voice sounded hopeful.

"The first thing when I got there," Stiles smiled lovingly at the older wolf.

Tristan fidgeted with something in his pocket before taking out a small box.

"Umm... I got this for you," He shoved the box to Stiles and looked at the floor.

Stiles stared at the small peach box with a raised eyebrow and a curious smile, before shaking it next to his right ear, “What’s this?”. Gaby was stifling her giggles behind her hands.

The mage opened the box and saw a beautiful [black pendant](http://i.imgur.com/FPdtT42.jpg).

"Wow... Uh..."

"It's my family symbol,"

Stiles looked up to Tristan; astounded by the man’s sincerity. The wolf was looking at the pendant, avoiding his eyes.

"I want you to have it. So that whenever you feel alone, you know that we're always here with you," Tristan smiled at him when the Alpha finally met his eyes.

"We'll be in your heart, Stiles! Just like you told me before! And I have it too! So we can remember each other in our hearts!" Gaby was holding her own pendant on her chest and smiled widely at the mage.

"It's beautiful, guys. But it-it's too mu..."

“Compared to you, nothing is enough,” the shy comment from the older man made the young guardian blushed.

Stiles smiled at the excited Gaby. It was like looking at himself when he was young; eager to please his mother and see that small smile on her face. He knew that they’re still strangers but his instincts; majorly his Spark; told him something else; that they were more than that. Somehow his Spark would sing every time he made contact with the silver-haired Alpha.

Stiles took the pendant out of the box and unclasped the silver chain. He crouched in front of Gaby and held it out to her.

"Would you put it on for me?"

Gaby nodded her head with a squeal and put it around Stiles' neck. With a small “Thank you,” and a kiss to the soft pink cheek of the girl, he stood up and looked at his neck.

The black symbol stood out on his pale skin. He closed his eyes and felt the power inside him surge all over his body. He could feel his Spark swishing around them, making the wolves flashing their eyes. The Spark was searching for its Alpha and had found the dominant power in the silver-haired man.

A new connection with a new pack had been made.

* * *

As soon as they landed, Stiles called Tristan to let him know. The man said that his sister had been crying ever since the mage boarded the plane. Stiles talked to Gaby, calming her down. He knew the wolf was agitated due to the bond but he did whisper a few spells to her pendant when he was holding her at the airport. The spells would soothe her wolf every time she's upset.

But he didn’t tell Tristan that his Spark was agitated inside him; urging him to go back to the Alpha. He instead put the thought away and would ask about it when he called Deaton later.

He didn’t need another heartbreak.

Derek fetched them from the airport in a black Chevy SUV. He helped putting their bags in the car boot while others got in. Before anybody could figure out the seating arrangement, Stiles went into the back seat.

Boyd was sitting in the passenger seat while the other three were sitting at the back. Stiles was sitting behind Boyd, with Isaac in between of him and Erica. The mage didn’t want to be near Derek and saved himself by looking outside of the car, trying to distract himself from the memories that had been hunted him since 3 days ago.

His Alpha didn't call him when they were packing their things in New York before and neither did he. He would talk to Boyd if he or his friends needed anything for the move. Stiles felt guilty for involving the Beta wolf into their issue but he needed time to move on again.

They arrived at Derek's house, the Hale family house. The building went through extreme makeovers, according to Boyd, when Derek took over the Alpha spot. The large house now was suitable for more meetings and gatherings than before.

Stiles got out of the care and surveyed the house. His Spark was buzzing inside him, trying to make connections with the new place. The place looked different but yet he felt familiar standing on its ground.

He closed his eyes and breathed out; searching for the heart of the land.

Acres upon acres of woods surrounding them like a shield. No wonder the Hale settled at this part of the town. It’s like a sanctuary for them; to be free in their true form.

Stiles concentrated on his power and tried to look for the key of soul.

_“In every land, there’s a heart of it. We call it the key of soul. You want to know about a new place, search for the key of soul and you’ll break the barrier between your Spark and the land. It is also what you need to do when you get to Beacon Hills later. You’ve been away for too long, Stiles. You need to greet the town again. Like paying your respect,”_

"Stiles?"

Deaton’s voice vanished when from his mind when the mage opened his eyes and saw Isaac was looking at him. The wolf was holding the boot of the car and everybody had made their way into the house, except for them.

"Are you okay?"

Stiles blinked a few times before smiling at the golden haired boy.

"You go ahead. I wanna look around first, to get my Spark familiar with the place,"

Isaac stared at him for a few moments before closing the boot. He walked a few steps away from Stiles towards the forest.

"Then let’s get moving. My wolf needs to be familiar too,” said Isaac when he threw a smile at Stiles over his shoulder, before changing into a big brown wolf.

Stiles still couldn't believe his eyes every time he saw any of them changing. Their wolves stood tall; reaching his shoulder but so much bigger.

Isaac sauntered to him and nuzzled into his neck. The creature gave a lick to Stiles' left cheek before trotting into the forest; tongue lolling to the side and tail wagging like a happy oversized puppy.

The mage rolled his eyes and wiped his cheek. He looked back at the house behind him for a beat before following the wolf.

* * *

 The air around him felt light and easy. He could smell the fresh cold air dancing on his neck when he threw his head back. The ground felt alive with every step he took. He didn't know the way but he knew the forest like an old friend.

Stiles touched every tree and he could feel the ancient spirit glowed under his palm. Deaton said with every touch, he was actually renewing the energy on the land.

_"It's like you're saying hello,"_

Stiles went deeper into the forest with Isaac trotting next to him. The wolf was excited with the new vast place to roam around in his wolf form freely.

They reached a stream with clear water flowing down it where Stiles drank a bit before Isaac decided to take a swim in it. The mage just rolled his eyes and lounged on a fallen tree next to the stream.

The late afternoon sky looked blue, giving his tangled emotions and mind a moment of peace and calm.

Then he remembered the gloomy sad sky when his mother was lowered into her grave. He though his world was ending as it hurt so much to be alone. He didn’t think he could come back ever again after that day. That’s why he ran away.

But here he was in the same town, getting splashed with water every time Isaac jumped into the clear river. And he’s glad with his decision of coming back. Sooner or later, he’d need to face his demons.

After Isaac was done with his afternoon swim, they continued their journey in exploring the land again.

As they went deeper into the forest, Stiles felt something surging through the ground which eventually stopping him in his tracks. His friend didn’t seem to notice it going by the way he ran off chasing after squirrels, leaving him on his own.

The guardian couldn’t tell what it was but he felt like he was being drawn towards something. He looked back at the way Isaac disappeared and gave a small sigh with a smile. It’s hard to stop him when the pup got excited with something.

The wolf would come and sniff him out when he’s done with his game later. For now, he wanted to search for the power which was calling out for him like a Siren.

So, Stiles walked deeper into Derek’s territory.

* * *

Isaac growled with a vengeance at the squirrel scurrying up the tree, waving its acorn at him when the rodent had reached the branch, safe out of his reach.

And it didn’t make it any better for the wolf when the same squirrel had a smiley face, like it was laughing at him.

The wolf huffed up at the creature angrily before turning around.

He couldn’t see Stiles anywhere. He tried to listen to his heartbeats but he couldn’t sense it. His scent smelt far-off. He groaned internally when he figured that he had left the mage by himself in the middle of a scary unfamiliar forest when he was too high on adrenaline for having a wide space to run and chase things without worries for the first time ever.

Isaac jogged back to the spot, following his trail with his nose.

As he drew closer, he felt something was wrong. Everything was silent like nothing was in it. There was no chirping of birds or movements of wind around him. The forest turned dark like a blanket of shadow had enveloped between the trees. Isaac ran faster when he smelt another scent laced with Stiles’.

He ran and ran and ran but it was like a maze. He swerved left and right and even tried to go back but the forest looked the same. Stiles’ scent grew thinner and the wolf’s heart was pounding in his head. Isaac couldn’t see even a speck of light around the shady land, let alone Stiles. He was shaking with the thoughts of the worst that could happen to his friend and he couldn’t bear for another loss. And the wolf only depended on his instincts.

So he kept on running.

Till he stopped in a clearing.

Then he howled with all his might.

* * *

At the same moment, Derek’s eyes flashed red and he involuntarily changed into his Beta form from where he was talking to Jennifer on the phone in his study room/ office.

“Derek?”

His wolf was howling inside, distressed when he felt another suffering howl in the distance.

“Derek, is everything alrig…” the call was cut off due to Derek’s claws punctured through the device.

Without second thought, he jumped across the table and wrenched open the room door. The Alpha rushed through the halls and out on his porch when he saw wolfed out Boyd and Erica snarling at something from the direction of the forest. All of them were confused with their wolves changing without their control.

Until they saw Isaac in his wolf form, dragging an unconscious Stiles by his mouth.

Every thought left Derek’s mind the second his eyes touched the pale face of the young man. Stiles looked like a breath away from death.

And his wolf went feral inside, fighting to come out to rip the golden-haired Beta’s throat with his teeth and shred his body to pieces for putting his mate in such condition.

“Derek! Control yourself! We need you!”

Boyd shouted right into his face from where he was holding Derek. The Alpha didn’t realize he was snarling and snapping fangs at Isaac, which made the wolf whimpered while baring his throat. Erica took Stiles from Isaac and placed him on the ground.

“He’s freezing! We need to get him inside!” Erica’s voice was on the verge of breaking down.

Derek pushed Boyd without much force but the man still stumbled a few steps away. The Alpha rushed to Stiles and touched his face. The shallow breath that barely passed through the pair of blue lips showed his inner state. Derek wasted no time to pick Stiles up in a bridal carry, ignoring the others and walked into his warm house.

He needed to get his mate safe.

Because he feared for what his wolf would do to Isaac’s later.

* * *

Boyd, Erica and Isaac were waiting an hour later in Derek’s study room for him to return from his room after tending to Stiles. Boyd had called a ‘close friend’ who’s a medical expertise to help Stiles, as Derek refused to leave the guardian’s side.

 Isaac was leaning against the wall next to the window while Boyd was holding crying Erica on the couch. They didn’t know what happened and the youngest wolf was quiet since he changed back to human.

The door opened and all the wolves’ heads turned to it when Derek came in. He looked haggard and worried was over-taking his handsome face.

The Alpha sat in a single-seater sofa opposite of the couple. He rubbed his face with a long sigh.

Isaac eyed the man warily, “He’s not getting better, is he?”

Derek put his elbows on his knees and placed his chin on top of them. He was looking at the coffee table in front of him with a distant look.

“I don’t know,”

“What about your friend? Does she know anything?” Erica begged with a small voice.

Derek didn’t raise his gaze once from the coffee table.

“Derek?” the small voice broke his heart a little but he remained unresponsive.

Erica stood up and yelled at the Alpha, “Fucking tell me right now!”

Boyd rose to his feet slowly next to her and turned her to him. He hugged his mate while walking out of the room, away from the stress.

Derek closed his eyes and buried his face in his palms again.

“It’s all your fault,” Isaac’s small voice sounded loud in the silence.

Derek turned his face towards the young wolf with a frown. The man was standing tall, facing him, fists shaking with anger at his sides. His eyes were flashing yellow gold, which earned a warning growl from the Alpha.

The door opened silently, cutting the tension.

“Boys, please. Stiles doesn’t need this for his recovery,” the woman’s voice sounded tired.

Melissa brought in a tray of teas while Erica walked in behind her with the teapot. Boyd closed the door and walked with the women towards the couch. They took a seat without a word while Melissa set up the drink. She then went to the love seat with a serious look on her face.

“Isaac, honey, you might want to take a seat because you look like you’re gonna fall any minute now. And Derek, please call Deaton for Stiles. Other than the small cut on the back of his head which probably from when he hit the ground when he passed out, I don’t know what’s going on with him. So you might wanna need some help in the supernatural department,” Melissa urged with a soft smile.

“What about him?” the Alpha’s tight voice showed his protectiveness towards the young man.

“He’s sleeping now and I’ve got my assistant with him upstairs so we’ll be good for a while,” the doctor assured him.

Derek gave a small nod, stood up and went to his table. Erica offered the cup to Melissa which she took with a grateful smile, “Thank you, darling”

Isaac stole a whiff and a familiar scent hit him, “You’re Scott’s mom,”

The woman chuckled and shook her head a little, “A+ for that nose, my dear. But do I smell so much like that brat?”

The wolf gave a small grin before a loud dial tone interrupted them.

A few beats more and Deaton’s voice came, “Derek?”

“Deaton, I need some help. Are you busy?”

“Hold on for a moment,” a pause and, “Thank you, Sandra. Yes that’s all for now,” There was some rustling on the other side before Deaton talked again, “I was just doing some readings on the unknown pack but I’ll be fine. What’s the matter?”

“Something’s wrong with Stiles, Alan” Melissa replied when Derek didn’t know what to say.

Deaton was silent for a moment before he continued, “Hello, Melissa. How wrong?”

Derek was looking at Isaac, probing him to continue and the wolf walked towards the table slowly; sitting on the chair on the opposite site.

“Well, I was walking with Stiles in the woods because he said he wanted to get familiarize with the place. We walked around for like an hour before I left him alone,”

“YOU DID WHAT?!” the Alpha’s roar thundered across the room.

Isaac bared his throat while whining and Melissa rushed between them.

“Derek, let him talk! We need to know everything to help Stiles,” Deaton begged the Alpha through the phone.

Derek’s eyes were bloodshot and he eyed the wolf behind the woman with a vengeance. The boy would need a miracle to prevent the Alpha from gutting him inside out.

The curly-haired man glanced at Derek before the man flashed his fangs, warning him to stick to the explanation.

“Isaac, go on. Don’t leave anything out,” urged the old mage.

“Umm… when I turned around, I couldn’t sense Stiles anywhere, except for his smell. At first it was like miles away, like Stiles wasn’t even with me. Then as I trailed back, I smelt something different on top of it. Not only that, everything was so silent and it turned dark suddenly as I got near. Like something or a force separated me from the world. My wolf felt threatened because it felt cold. It felt  ** _evil_**. So I tried to run to Stiles but I still couldn’t get to him. It was like a fucking maze! Every time I stopped for a breath, Stiles’ scent getting thinner. That was before I reached where he was. Or I thought it was him standing,” Isaac’s hands were shaking in his laps.

Melissa walked around him, sat on the seat next to him and held his hands, giving him strength to continue.

“He…. He was standing on a dead tree or a stump or something, looking at the ground. His hands were on his sides but there were like black lines all over ‘em. He didn’t look like Stiles!” the wolf whined with teary eyes.

Everybody was looking at him and Derek couldn’t move an inch.

“I-I-I tried to call him; howling as hard as I could but it’s like he didn’t hear me. So, I tried to hit him or do something but I still couldn’t. There was a barrier, a shield between us. And-and Stiles looked like he’s hurting. I wanted him to stop, to-to look at me, so I howled again. Then he raised his face and that’s when I notice something. His-his-his eyes were pitch black,”

Melissa and Erica gasped. Boyd was holding to his mate tightly, couldn’t believe his ears. Derek leaned by the table, folding his arms on his chests, looking outside at the dark evening sky.

Deaton heaved a heavy breath “Then what happened?”

“He stared at me. There were like some weird black alien carvings or tattoos shit on his face! I…I don’t know why but my wolf took him as an enemy! He’s Stiles! He played with my wolf all the time in New York, there was no reason for it to be like that but in that moment, he’s not the Stiles! I could nearly pissed myself when that thing smirked at me. It’s like he knew what I’m thinking about. Then he walked towards me. Or tried to because he looked like he was struggling, like something was holding him back. I saw Stiles shook his head like he’s trying to wake up but the thing snarled at me when I growled at him. So I howled again. Then he looked at me for a second before he passed out,” Isaac’s fear and anxiousness was making every wolf agitated, trying to protect him from enemy.

“The barrier disappeared when I went to him after that. I tried to wake him up but he didn’t respond to me. I didn’t know what to do,”

“So you howled to us,” Derek pressed through his teeth.

The silence that followed the comment cloaked the whole room. Erica was weeping in Boyd’s arms while the man was looking at the now cold teas. Melissa hugged sobbing Isaac to her for Lord knew how scared the boy was to be alone and see something like that happened to his friend.

But neither of them expected for the Alpha to inch closer to the whimpering Beta and put his left palm on Isaac’s right shoulder, squeezing it firmly.

“You did great,”

Deaton moved around on the other side of the phone, going by the sound of walking thumps and rustling of papers. After a while, the mage asked Isaac, “Do you still remember how the area looks like where you had found Stiles?”

“A-a tree stump. The roots are thick and big and they are all over the ground,”

The mage hummed and sighed, “It’s a Nemeton. I’ve been there before with Claudia but it was a long time ago. She said it felt powerful but nothing alarming. It was almost calming to her because she felt safe around it. But neither Talia nor I could feel it. Perhaps only the Guardian of the place could sense it,”

Another rustling of papers, “The Nemeton is an ancient power for it is the original Guardian of a foreign land. Before a pack with Guardians like me and Stiles settle down in a place, the Nemeton protected it. Back then, they believed that the ground was an ancient spirit that could protect them from any harm, just like what the Guardians do. They worshipped the land and thanking it for providing a place for them to build shelters and take care of their families. That was until a female Guardian managed to connect with the heart of her territory. So they figured out the ancient power lived in the Guardian. That’s why the Guardians are always women,”

“Why a female?” Derek couldn’t help but ask.

“Women are compassionate and they give birth to love, literally. What is more than the way to stabilize the power play in a pack of wolves with love itself? And nobody can do better than them, am I right, Melissa?”

The middle-aged woman chuckled, “I nearly kicked the doctor’s head when I gave birth to Scott but to see my own heart running around the house, pooping and screaming with snot down his face was worth all the pain in the world,”

“Ah yes. But try taking the child away from the mother and you won’t survive the next moment. Their protective nature is what gives them strength to bear such power from an ancient spirit,” Deaton explained.

“So wait, we’re talking about thousands of years ancient?” finally Erica voiced out.

“Aeons of ancient,” Deaton concluded.

Another beat of silence.

“Many of you didn’t know this but Beacon Hills is not just a name. It is actually a beacon. The Nemeton is the oldest compared to other places. It acted as a power source for any supernatural beings and only the mage of Life could provide that. Claudia didn’t have any problem before because she’s a female Guardian. I think the reason that Stiles were gravely affected by it was because he’s the  _son_  of Claudia and a new Guardian. The Nemeton was, you could say, ‘renewing their connection’,”

Isaac frown at the desk and said “But his eyes were black. Like _**evil**_  black,”

“The Nemeton is an ancient creature; a pure untouched energy. Perhaps after years of no suitable Guardian, the power had to make sure that Stiles’ Spark is a worthy being and equal to it. Therefore, the only way to confirm that was to go inside him, thus explaining the black lines that you saw on his arms. And they said the eyes are the window to your soul,”

“So what will happen to him?” Erica’s question was barely audible in the room, showing her fear.

For the first time ever, Deaton let out a relieved sigh, “He’s fine. Let’s just be grateful that the Nemeton had deemed him as a perfect Guradian,”

“What if it didn’t?” Isaac couldn’t stop himself.

Nobody said a word for a few seconds before Deaton asked, “….Derek?”

Derek looked at all of them with a tight frown.

“Then Stiles won’t even be here anymore,”

* * *

Stiles opened his eyes groggily. The moonlight spilt the room with a soft light between the drapes on his right. It was peaceful and quiet.

It was always like this in Beacon Hills.

He then tried to sit up but the throbbing in his head deterred his effort. With a groaned, Stiles closed his eyes in the hope that his strength would return. His limbs felt numb and his body felt like being hit by a truck. He remembered being alone in the dark before he passed out.

So much pain and anguish. So much fear and hatred.

So much  ** _power_**.

The clicked of the door brought his attention to it. Derek walked inside and closed it back, turning his face to him. The Alpha’s smile was small but the relieve gesture was almost like a silent prayer, thanking something or someone.

It was painful to think that he would never earn a sincere smile full of love like Jennifer did.

Stiles smiled back and avoided the older man’s eyes by trying to sit up again. Derek rushed to him and sat by his left side on the bed, facing him. His big strong hands felt warm on the smaller man’s back and shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” Derek begun in a cautious voice.

“Like I got the worst hangover ever during a zombie apocalypse,” the younger man rubbed his forehead in an attempt to lessen the dizziness.

Derek snorted and looked at him with an amuse expression on his face.

God, he’s beautiful.

Stiles glanced away before he hurt himself again with the ridiculous thought, “Just ignore me,” and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Ouch!”

The older man reached for his hand to stop him; worries marred his face, “Easy, easy. Let me see your head,”

Stiles turned his head to the right, giving way for Derek to inspect his injury.

“You hit yourself when you fainted in the woods. It’ll be bruised for a few days, so take it easy,” the wolf examined his head while touching it gently. Stiles clasped his hands in his lap, trying to avoid direct touches with the wolf.

“Well, not the first time to happen,” the mage snorted.

He suddenly realized that the Alpha was still stroking his head softly and when he glanced at the older man’s right arm, there were black veins seeping up towards his shoulder.

“Werewolf healing mojo? Never get tired of that,” Stiles commented, which earned a raised eyebrow from Derek.

Stiles glanced down at his fidgety fingers.

“Scott used to always do that after every time Jackson felt the need to exude his ‘manliness’ to ‘unfagged’ me. Not that it ever changed anything,” the mage rolled his eyes with a sigh.

“Jackson always hit you?” Derek’s voice was dripping with hatred and disgust.

The harsh tone brought Stiles’ gaze straight to the vicious red orbs which were eyeing his head. He glanced sideways at the eyes, surprised with the wolf’s anger.

Derek cleared his throat when he noticed Stiles’ confusion and blinked the Alpha-ness away, “Sorry. I wish that somebody could’ve done something about it,”

He was staring straight at Stiles, the earnest hope from the wolf sounded heavy in the air. Stiles couldn’t bear looking at something so out of his reach and yet, so sinfully sweet that left him hanging for more. Derek was like an oasis for his thirst of love. Years and years of being alone made him crave for the older man’s attention. Deep in his heart he knew there was something between them but the wolf refused to accept it. And now, Derek was showing that he cared Stiles even after what had happened during Sunday’s lunch.

Dear God, give him strength.

He avoided the handsome man’s scorching eyes and looked at his lap, “It was nothing. In fact, it was actually the highlight of my high school years. At least I got something to remember for the rest of my life,”

Even though he only had painful memories to hold on to. Just like with Derek.

Stiles swallowed with struggle and looked around the room to stop the disturbing thoughts. Derek had switched on the small lamp on the bedside table next to him that bathed the room with a shade of warm orange.

From where he was sitting on the bed, he could see a walk-in wardrobe that stretched to the far back in front of him, going from the gaping sliding wooden panel. There was a closed door next to it that had the blurry material, which Stiles guessed it lead to the bathroom. On the right side of the room, dark shades of drapes covered a large window pane, with the moonlight trying to escape inside between it. There was also a table with a chair at the corner of the room

The mage felt safe and calm being in the dark coloured room.

Stiles cleared his throat and looked down at his body. He was in his black boxer wearing a navy blue oversized hooded sweatshirt that says ‘New York University’. The overwashed material felt soft and comfortable on his naked skin.

“Yours?” he eyed the wolf.

Derek looked at him and at his torso with a small smile, “Yeah,”

 Everything seemed like home.

Which was a torture and so unfair because Stiles was trying to forget Derek.

* * *

Derek’s bedroom door opened with Melissa entering the room. She was carrying a tray of food. The woman smiled at both of them, even though only the young man saw it because Derek was looking intently at him.

Melissa placed the tray on the bed in front of Stiles and stood next to them.

“Hello, Stiles,”

The young Guardian smiled at her and reached for her hands.

“Miss me?” grinned playfully.

The older woman chuckled before replied, “I just saw you last Christmas with your dad and you’re already here dying. You just can’t stay out of trouble, huh,”

“What can I say? My 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bounds could only attract troubles instead of a real person,” Stiles sniffled.

“And what if your trouble is in the form of a real person?” came a deep voice from the door.

Stiles could see the lines that come with old age on Sheriff Stilinski’s face were more obvious now than during their last meeting. His father was still in his uniform, looking tired with workloads but still strong and firm.

“I’ll be downstairs,” Derek politely excused himself from the family gathering and stood up. His eyes still lingered a few seconds on Stiles before turning to look at the Sheriff.

Stiles could see the exchanged between both men in their tensed glances and his father gave a small nod to Derek before the wolf went out of the room and closed the door.

John looked at Stiles before sighing and walked up to him. He took a chair from the table and dragged it across next to the bed. Melissa had already sat in Derek’s spot and smiled amusingly at the father and son.

“Stiles…” his father’s voice was annoyed and yet gentle as soon as he had settled down on the chair.

 They’ve been in this situation before.

Stiles chuckled before pulling his father near and hugged the death out of the old man. His father wrapped his arms around him and exhaled a heavy breath beside his ear; relief washed over his tensed body.

“I miss you so much, dad,” he couldn’t stop his wavering voice and the tears that fell.

John chuckled wetly before rubbing his son’s back with love. He could be admitted in an asylum or a hospital or even both, thinking of the boy’s well-being.

“Well, I can’t believe I’m saying this but I can’t be more glad to see your bruised ass here. You scared the shit out of me, kiddo!”

The young man pulled back and looked at his father’s red eyes. The man was trying to look angry but Stiles could see the smile that threatened to come out.

“Then I’ve live my life correctly,” he grinned cheekily.

They both laughed while Melissa prepared the food for Stiles. She placed the tray in front of him and took off the cover. There was chicken breast, some mashed potato, two pieces of bruschetta and grilled asparagus. A glass of cold fresh orange juice placed neatly next to the plate. Stiles’ stomach grumbled with excitement.

“You can strangle each other’s throats later. Now, eat,”

The first taste of orange juice on his dried tongue was like a blessing. Stiles didn’t realize that he was thirsty and hungry until he had smelt the dinner. He stuffed his face without stopping until his father ruffled his hair.

“Woah, slow down, kiddo. Nobody’s taking your food away,”

A question flashed through his mind before he choked a little and sipped the orange juice to clear out his throat.

“I forgot to ask you. What are you doing here? I mean, how did you know I’ve fucked up this time?” Stiles chewed the chicken while curiously looking at his father.

“Melissa called me when I was at the station earlier. She said that you’re back in town but passed out at Hale’s. Way to make a comeback, Stiles,” grunted the old man.

“I just returned from the hospital when Boyd had called me. He asked me to come down to Derek’s house to check on  _‘a friend’_. When I got here, Derek was snarling like crazy at me, trying to block you away. It took your friend, Isaac and Boyd to hold him back while I check on you. Funny how they mentioned you as ‘ _a friend’_  because they didn’t want me to tell your dad about your condition. Clearly they don’t know me well,” chuckled Melissa.

Stiles gulped down and stared at his food, “So, what happened?”

“Isaac said you passed out somewhere in the middle of the forest. He had to drag you out to the house. Deaton said it has something to do about ancient power rekindling in your body when you made contact with the oldest guardian in Beacon Hills,”

John sighed heavily between them.

“You called Deaton?” the young mage couldn’t help the small voice. Calling Deaton meant it was serious.

“We had to. You were like a few seconds away from death! Your lips were blue and your skin was like ice but you weren’t shivering. I even had to take off your clothes and asked Derek to keep you warm with his body temperature,” Melissa explained.

Stiles’ mind went blank and he held his breath.

“What?” he stared at the woman with wide eyes.

“I had to. It’s the only way to bring your body temperature up or you’d have hypothermia and we can’t have that,”

“Fuck, Stiles!” his father rubbed his face with his hands and leaned back in the chair. He was too old for this ride.

Stiles stared at the black sheets on Derek’s bed and grasped the material tightly. Horror swept him away with the realization that Derek had touched his body without a single thread between them. And he had been unconscious to feel it.

Fuck his virgin life!

“But you still wouldn’t wake up,” Melissa continued.

He looked at the woman’s worried face.

“So, we had to call Alan. He explained that perhaps the land was trying to make contact with you and your Spark. It has been a long time for Beacon Hills without a true Guardian after your mom had passed away and the power wanted to make sure that you’re up for it,” she stroked his messy bangs away from his forehead with a worried smile.

“So am I up for it?” he forced a laugh, trying to lighten up the mood.

“You bet. If you weren’t, you won’t even be ‘up’ and talking to us now,” Melissa’s strict speech and serious expression made him shuddered with the unsaid fact.

He’s now a true Guardian of Beacon Hills? Wow, that was fast. He didn’t think that it’d be that easy to be accepted by the land. All these while he was worried about his skills and abilities because he just had like half a year to learn about his true self.

But here he was, waking up from the worst headache of his life and learning the fact that he and the oldest Guardian were now homey instead of it sending him six feet under.

Good gracious, he needed to lie down now.

* * *

John and Melissa had gone back together. The father and son had talked and reminisced their old times while Stiles lying under the blanket in Derek’s warm bed. John had apologized for sending him away five years ago but the young man understood that his father was just protecting him from everything.

_“Maybe I’ll come down later at the station. I miss the boys though, especially Jordan,” Stiles said up to the Sheriff when he was getting ready to leave._

_“That’s Deputy Parrish to you. And yeah, the boys miss you too,” John ruffled his hair._

_The old man watched his son with a loving gaze before kissing the top of his head._

_“Everything will be fine,”_

And Stiles just offered a small smile.

The Alpha had walked in during their conversation and told them that John and Melissa were welcomed to stay for the night. But the couple had an early shift the next day. So they decided to go back.

“The others have settled down in their rooms. Isaac was constantly asking for you though. The pup wouldn’t take no for an answer. Such an insistent brat. He even wanted to sleep in the opposite room,” Derek grunted from where he was in the walk-in wardrobe, changing his clothes. The only light source was from the space and the bathroom next to it.

Stiles was seating against the headboard, legs under the cover, looking at him. It was near to 2am and he didn’t feel that sleepy anymore. He was before but alone with a half-naked Derek only in his grey flannel pyjamas pants who was going into the bathroom to brush his teeth, made Stiles wanted nothing but to jump out of the window.

They didn’t talk about what happened between them yet. He didn’t even call for Derek directly about it before. It had been three days without direct contact from either of them.

Stiles didn’t want the wolf to feel like he had to take care of him, now that he’s the true Guardian. He won’t force Derek to accept him or apologize to him because no matter how he hated the older man for ignoring his feelings, he understood what Derek had been through.

And the Alpha didn’t need a shitty being like him in his life.

Stiles looked between the drapes, outside at the moon. It was shining brightly and he could feel his Spark glimmering in the room with the power of the luna. The white light was stroking his pale skin soothingly. No wonder his mother loved the night sky so much. It gave her power.

And now, it gave him power.

The sound of switch clicked off stole his gaze towards Derek. He was leaning back against the door with his hands behind him, facing Stiles. They were silent in the moonlit shade, staring at each other.

He could see the older man’s burning eyes on him, searching for something.

The wolf’s body would put Adonis to shame. His muscular chest was flexing with every breath he took and his biceps looked bigger with the way he was standing. The pants were dangerously low on his hips and Stiles could see the treasure trail that led to the wolf’s obvious huge manhood.

_If that is him normal, imagine him having a boner._

And Stiles had to bit his lower lip to stop him for having such dirty thought about the man that had rejected him again and again.

He looked down at his hands on his lap and pinched the cover. It was totally unfair to have such fate. If anybody would ever ask about Stiles definition of hell, he would say being alone in a room with the man that held your whole heart and yet he didn’t feel the same about you.

 “Is your head still hurting?”

 Stiles glanced-sideways and snapped back to his hands when the wolf made way to the bed slowly. His heart was thundering in his chest and shiver passed his spine.

“Nuh… uh… Nope. It’s fine,” he wringing his fingers together, trying to stop himself from looking at Derek.

The man was now crawling into the bed beside Stiles. What the younger man didn’t expect was for Derek to lie down under the cover and gave him his broad back.

“Good night, Stiles,”

He was stunned to the view with Derek’s dismissal. They clearly had something to talk about but the wolf preferred to ignore it. And he didn’t even say anything about Stiles being in his bed!

He turned towards the body next to him and tried, “Um… Derek?”

The older man just grunted a noise as an answer before Stiles continued, “Uh… I don’t mean to be annoying or anything because clearly you’re tired and my head is still swimming with dizziness and it’s already late and God knows what tomorrow holds for us but uh… um… don’t you think we have something to talk about?”

There were a few moments of silence before the wolf rolled onto his back, eyes at the ceiling above them.

“About what?”

The mage stilled his confidence and closed his eyes, gathering all his might.

“About what I said to you in New York,” Stiles stared at his finger while tracing random patters on the mattress between them.

The wolf sighed before sitting up and leaned against the headboard too.

“You will never let it go until we talk about it, huh?” he rubbed his face tiredly.

Stiles flinched at his comment, feeling guilty for forcing Derek into the conversation but he needed a final answer. He’s done running away from his actions. At least he’d have a peace of mind after he knew what Derek felt, no matter how painful it was.

He’ll be fine.

“I don’t know what to say,” the older man confessed.

He felt like being splash with a bucket of iced water but it’s better to hear it all out than to stir around.

Stiles leaned back and looked at his lap, “You can always tell me what do you think of me. And that would actually do it because I need to know whether you’re annoyed at me or hate me or something,”

Derek sighed again.

“I don’t hate you, Stiles. Annoyed? All the time,” the wolf chuckled lowly. “But not hate,”

“So why did you always look like you just swallowed a bag of mountain ash every time people bring up about the topic of us being mates?” he didn’t even recognize his own voice as it was wavering and barely distinct in the dark.

He felt the bed dipped when Derek moved. Stiles lifted his eyes to the man and saw he was facing him, serious expression on his face.

“I don’t really know how to do all this shit. It seemed like I know but I have never heard of the Alpha pair or ancient Guardian shit or pure energy before you came into my life. And-and I need to look after a pack. I don’t want my wolf to distract me from doing what I need to do. I like you, Stiles. But I need to focus,”

Stiles was fully acquainted with the whole  _‘it’s not you, it’s me’_  speech. Hell, his life was basically the speech. Everything was more important than his hopeless crush. Nothing new there. So he didn’t really feel anything when he heard it from Derek.

He already knew that from the beginning.

“You deserve someone wonderful in your life but not me,” the Alpha finished his explanation.

He looked at Derek’s face and saw a soft gentle smile. The things he would do to get this man to smile at him all the time.

Pity that it’d be for another woman.

The dark shadow brought relief to the young man as he couldn’t bear to look straight at the man of his love. Even though he knew that the wolf’s eyes could see everything in the dark, even at his expressions, he disregarded that fact.

Stiles laughed quietly and smiled at Derek, “Thank you for telling me that. At least now I know when to stop from embarrassing myself further,”

The Alpha gave a small smile too with a concerned look, “You’re not mad?”

He snorted and waved it away, “Why would I. It’s just a phase. It’ll pass. In fact, Imma look for another crush tomorrow when I stop by the station. I’m sure that they have new officers in town,”

Derek chuckled lowly and his velvety deep voice was like a slice to Stiles’ heart.

“And one of them would find your sarcasm tolerable,”

“You bet they would!” Stiles lied back down and turned on his side facing the bedside table.

The other man was lying down again on his side and the sound of gentle breathing filled the air. Stiles tried to stop himself for talking again by biting his lip but accidentally spurted when he felt Derek moved to get comfortable.

“Why am I here with you? I mean, in your room, sleeping in the same bed and wearing your shirt?”

Derek groaned before chuckling, “One of these days, I’m gonna gag you with something, Stiles,”

Oh he craved to be gagged by Derek’s anything.

Fuck. Stupid mind, go to sleep!

“You know that it’s gonna make me annoy you more with anything that you give me, Derek,” he rolled his eyes and turned towards the man.

The rich dark chuckle caressed his spine in the dark.

“When you fainted, my wolf went insane with the need to protect you. I nearly ripped Isaac’s head off because the wolf felt like he was responsible for making you like that. So I had to put you somewhere that’d make you smell like me to calm the beast, hence the bedroom and my shirt. And for you sleeping here, I’m too tired to move and show you to your room. It’s almost 2:30, Stiles. We’ll deal with anything tomorrow,”

Stiles hummed understandingly at him and turned on his side, “Sure,”

Derek only did this because of his wolf.

Of course.

And as the lone tear that flowed down by the corner of his left eye hit the pillow a few minutes later, the mage breathed out his cry silently in the dark and closed his eyes.

It’s just because he’s too sleepy and tired.

That’s all.

* * *

That morning, Stiles woke up to the extra heat on his back. He used to be in this situation back in New York when Isaac would be extra touchy with him.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw the clock on the wall showed 6:00am. He tried to turn around from his position on his stomach but another weight was pressing down on him. His left hand was under the pillow and his right hand was on top of it; hugging the cushion near. But there was another hand around his waist, keeping him tightly near to the hot body behind him. His legs were tangled with long muscular legs.

Stiles could feel slow breath at the back of his neck and a nose being pressed at the nape of his hair. A warm thick long shaft grinded slowly between the cleft of his ass.

Now he’s fully awake.

He held his breath and bit his lip.

Okay, Derek with little Derek. No big deal.

Okay, maybe a HUGE deal because little Derek was not little at all!

Everything’s fine.

He can do this!

The mage moved his right hand slowly towards the strong arm on his stomach and tried to pull it off. Derek grunted and snuggled closer to him, winding his hand tighter. His legs practically thrown over Stiles and he was sure to die of embarrassment as his boner wanted to greet Derek too.

He turned on his back with an effort and the wolf went with it but still keeping the younger man close.

The handsome face of the older man made his heart skipped. He stared at Derek’s soft lips that were tempting him and he couldn’t stop himself from making the contact with his soft tanned skin. This was the first time Stiles ever see the wolf’s face real close without him snapping his fangs.

The stubble felt heaven under Stiles fingers. He wondered how it would feel on his neck or body. His sensitive skin would blush with beard burn. The sensuous lips made him licked his own lips. The sharp nose made him wanted to give a peck on it. The cheekbones would fit his smaller palms perfectly. The relaxed thick eyebrows on the usually wrinkled forehead when the wolf would frown at him made Derek looked even more beautiful.

Like a drug, he kept on coming back for more of Derek and less of him in return. He’s slowly losing himself, drowning in the ecstasy.

Stiles jerked his hand back when the eyelids fluttered slowly and the Alpha inhaled a deep breath. He bit his lip again and waited for Derek’s freak out when he let out the air.

It didn’t come.

His growling stomach robbed his attention from the perfect being next to him. Even during such situation his virgin body wanted to prove itself. Stiles rolled his eyes at himself.

The tight fingers on his waist were hard to work with but the young man managed to peel it off one by one. Despite his tired body and mental, he urged himself to get out of the bed and out of the warm haven.

* * *

The hallway looked deserted that early morning. Everybody was still sleeping, going with the soft snoring between the walls. There was another door a few feet opposite of him of the left. He sensed, with his Spark, a particular curly-haired wolf on the other side of it. So he knocked gently and turned the knob to peek inside.

Isaac was sprawling in the master bed on his stomach; the cover was down to his hips. The room was smaller but neat. The man seemed to sleep throughout the night, going by the deep snore and tousled hair.

Stiles was glad that the wolf was content with the new place. Normally, Isaac would sleep with him for a few days because his wolf was agitated with an unfamiliar space. But perhaps being near his pack helped to calm him down.

His pack.

That sounded weird.

New but not bad weird.

He closed the door and walked down the hall until he came across a large space in the middle of the floor. The soft orange blue morning sky greeted his eyes through the glass ceiling. He looked at the veranda on the other side of the sliding door on his right and saw the vast expanse of green trees.

He had never been to this part of Beacon Hills before. And the serene sight almost brought tears to his eyes.

It was so beautiful.

Stiles continued his journey in searching for the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everybody. He went down the grand staircase on his left and reached the first floor. There were several more doors around him, so he turned around and walked till he reached the big kitchen, which was situated next to the grand living room.

He fiddled around the space, looking through the fridge, drawers and kitchen cabinets. Settling in a new place would definitely require a lot of energy. So he took out ten eggs, some bacon strips and some potatoes. The mage peeled the potatoes and boiled it while whipping some pancake batter. With the four-burner stove and ten years’ worth of cooking experience and taking care of others, Stiles worked the breakfast with ease.

Derek was the first to come down while he was cooking. The wolf’s hair was messy and the confuse look on his sleepy face made the young mage giggled.

“Good morning,” he greeted the man and earned a grunt as a reply.

The Alpha dragged a tall chair by the counter and rested his face on his palms, watching Stiles moving around the kitchen.

“Coffee or juice?”

“Coffee. Black, two sugars,” mumbled the sleepy wolf.

Stiles giggled again, “Coming right up”

He poured the coffee powder, some water into the coffee maker and switched it on. While the coffee was brewing, he worked on the orange juice for others.

Fifteen minutes had passed before he heard something being mumbled by the older man behind him.

“Hmm?” he turned around to look at Derek.

 Derek had this dreamy eyes and drowsy frown on his face when he repeated himself, “You weren’t in bed. So I woke up,”

Both of Stiles’ eyebrows reached his hairline watching the adorable pout on the Alpha’s face. He chuckled before replied, “Sorry?”

A grunt with a nod from Derek made his heart warmed with the thought of the man searching for him this morning.

Then Isaac walked into the kitchen while yawning and scratching his head, “Stiles…I want juice,” and sat next to other wolf.

Stiles rolled his eyes and checked on the food. He turned off the stove as the beeping sound from the coffee maker signalled that the coffee was ready. He put each food in a plate, drizzling some pepper and salt on the potatoes and served everything on the counter along with empty plates.

“Juice for me too and coffee for Boyd,” bed-haired Erica reached the kitchen with her mate hand in hand and sat on the other side of Derek.

The mage took two mugs and three glasses and pour the drink.

“Careful,” he warned Boyd and Derek when he handed the coffees to them.

The Alpha snorted and Boyd gave a small “Thank you,”

Stiles took a seat next to Isaac and the Beta grinned with his mouth full of eggs and potatoes, which earned a soft smack from the mage.

“What are we doing today?” Erica asked.

A few beat before Derek answered, “I’m meeting with others with Boyd in my office this afternoon. We need to find out about the travelling pack. You’re welcome to join us,”

“I want to go and meet the people at the station today. It feels rude not to greet them yesterday. But I’ll join you guys later,” Stiles craned his neck to look at Derek.

Isaac nodded fervently and swallowed his food, “Imma put away my stuffs in my room and play some video games on my laptop or something. I’m feeling extra lazy today,”

“You are always extra lazy, fatass,” Erica tossed a piece of potato at Isaac’s head.

“Not as fat as yours,” the pup encountered.

The female wolf gasped and flashed her Beta eyes, “Take that back!”

“Even if I take it back, it wouldn’t do any good to your weight,” Isaac’s comment erupted a loud laugh from Stiles and the curly-haired Beta.

Erica growled at both men before flicking her hair away with an evil grin, “And just for that, you’re going to the shopping mall with me,”

The tall man stopped laughing and stared at the woman with a shock expression, “Make me,”

“With pleasure,” she smiled with a peek of her white fang.

 


End file.
